Graduate Seminar Series - Ed R. Martinez

Ed. R. Martinez

NASA Ames Research Center

Friday, September 19th, 2025, 3:00 - 4:00 PM
Jett Hall, room 109

Title: Overview of Venus Instrumentation for Thermophysics & Aerosciences (VISTA) and Dragonfly Entry Aerosciences Measurements (DrEAM) projects

ABSTRACT: The Deep Atmosphere Venus Investigation of Noble Gases (DAVINCI) mission to Venus, expected to launch ~2030, provides a unique opportunity to instrument the forebody thermal protection system to provide valuable engineering data on the entry conditions at Venus. The main components of the DAVINCI mission are an orbiter and an atmospheric descent probe. Before the probe can be released from the hypersonic atmospheric entry aeroshell, a carbon-carbon forebody heatshield will absorb and re-radiate the necessary energy before safely deploying the descent sphere. A new project, called Venus Instrumentation for Thermophysics & Aerosciences (VISTA) will instrument the forebody heatshield with thermocouples and the backshell thermal protection system with a Schmidt-Boelter heat flux sensor. This application of flight sensors in a hypersonic carbon-carbon NASA heatshield to obtain flight Entry Descent & Landing (EDL) data has not been done before, and, represents a unique opportunity to understand and evaluate ground-to-flight design traceability, leading to improvements in future hypersonic atmospheric design of TPS entry systems.

BIO: Dr. Ed R. Martinez is currently leading the development of the Venus Instrumentation for Thermophysics & Aerosciences (VISTA) project as the Project Manager at the NASA Ames Research Center.

His previous experience:

• BSME NMSU 1986
• Lead Scientist for world’s largest shock tube: Large Blast / Thermal Simulator WSMR
• Led the re-creation of ability to instrument ablative heatshields for NASA. (T, P, rad, recession)
• Subsystem Manager to deliver instrumented thermal plugs (MEDLI) for the Mars Science Laboratory heatshield. Landed Curiosity rover in 2012
• Subcommittee Chairman for ASTM E21.08 on Thermal Protection (14 years)
• Project manager for NASA delivered heatshield instrumentation for Human spacecraft (Orion) missions on EFT-1 in 2012, Artemis 1 in 2016, and Artemis 2 in 2016
• Deputy Functional Area Manager (5 years) at Johnson Space Center for the Artemis 1, 2 Heatshield in the Orion Crew Service Module Office