Thermodynamic non-equilibrium and anisotropy in Mars atmosphere entry

Mars exploration demands aerodynamic computations for a proper design of missions of spacecraft carrying instruments and astronauts to Mars. Both Computational Fluid Dynamics (CFD) and Direct Simulation Monte Carlo (DSMC) method play a key role for this purpose. To the author's knowledge, the altitude separating the fields of applicability of CFD and DSMC in Mars atmosphere entry is not yet clearly defined. The limitations in using DSMC at low altitudes are due to technical limitations of the computer. The limitations in using CFD at high altitudes are due to thermodynamic non-equilibrium. Here, this problem is studied in Mars atmosphere entry, considering the Mars Pathfinder capsule in the altitude interval 40-80 km, by means of a DSMC code. Non-equilibrium is quantified by the relative differences between translational temperature and: rotational (θt-r), vibrational (θt-v), overall (θt-ov) temperatures, anisotropy is quantified by the relative difference between the translational temperature component along x and those along y (θx-y) and along z (θx-z). The results showed that θt-r, θt-v, θx-y, θx-z are almost equivalent. The altitude of 45 km should be the limit altitude for a proper use of a CFD code and the altitude of 40 km should be the limit altitude for a reasonable use of a DSMC code.