The European Space Agency (ESA) has released footage of tests of the Polish-built system that will allow Rosalind Franklin, Europe’s first planetary rover, to descend from its lander onto the Martian surface.
During a two-month campaign at the ALTEC facility in Turin, a twin model of the rover descended the ramp more than 20 times under conditions simulating those on Mars.
Astronika says the mechanism was subjected to greater loads than those expected on Mars. A special device supported two-thirds of the 300-kg rover’s weight to simulate Mars’s weaker gravity. The lander was tilted by 20 degrees, and obstacles were placed beneath the ramp to simulate scenarios in which the platform lands on a boulder or slope.
Descending from the lander is one of the most difficult manoeuvres of the mission. ESA’s ExoMars rover team leader Eric Zekri said there would be only one chance to carry it out successfully.
Astronika is responsible for two systems for the mission: the mechanisms for lowering the Rosalind Franklin rover onto the Martian surface and deployable antennas.
The deployment system has also passed vibration tests simulating rocket launch and two weeks of testing in a thermal-vacuum chamber at −70°C under near-vacuum conditions. It has undergone procedures to reduce microbial contamination and prevent Earth organisms from contaminating Mars.
The three-metre-long aluminium system will remain folded and locked throughout the journey from Earth, which will take more than a year. After landing, it must unfold autonomously in temperatures of several tens of degrees below zero and an atmosphere more than 100 times thinner than Earth’s.
The system allows the rover to descend from either the front or the rear of the lander. Operators on Earth will choose the direction using images of the landing area taken from orbit.
Rosalind Franklin is scheduled to land on Mars in 2030. It is designed to drill up to two metres below the surface to search for signs of ancient life.
Astronika designed and built the autonomous deployment system as part of a European industrial consortium. Thales Alenia Space leads the mission, while Airbus is building the landing platform.
(sp)
Source: PAP