Huygens Probe Entry, Descent, and Landing Dynamics Assessment Using a Multi-Body Parachute Model

The Dragonfly project is a New Frontiers Program mission that is slated to launch in 2028 and deliver a rotorcraft to Titan, Saturn’s largest moon. With the launch date approaching, there is an increased focus on the validation and verification of models that are used by the trajectory simulations. One of the models that contributes the most to the uncertainty of the entry, descent, and landing simulation is the atmosphere. Since Huygens is the only mission that has collected in-situ measurements during a descent, a current plan for the validation of the atmosphere model centers around reconciling that flight data with the current atmosphere model used by the Dragonfly flight mechanics team. To complete this, a 6 degree-of-freedom, multi-body simulation has been created using the Program to Optimize Simulated Trajectories 2 (POST2), the prime simulation tool for Dragonfly Entry and Descent, to predict the dynamics of Huygens using the reconciled models. The dynamics predicted by the simulation are then compared to flight data where possible and the previous analysis that was published by the authors last year. Current results show agreement to the available flight data, with an emphasis placed on the metrics that were flagged in the last analysis. The reconciliation is set to continue as areas of concern will be reported and inspected by the model developer.