A Method for Estimating the Direction of Gravitational Acceleration in the Active Phase of a Spacecraft Landing on the Martian Surface

Abstract

We know the spacecraft orientation before its touchdown on the Martian surface with an accuracy of 3–4°. The spacecraft control can result in a significant horizontal velocity at altitudes lower than 15 meters at the instant when the landing legs contact the surface when data from the radar location system terminates. An independent method for determining the gravity acceleration vector is presented in the paper. This method is implemented using information obtained from the gyro-inertial and radar instrumentation.