1st Quarter 2009Electrical switching & drive systems & components
The Spirit and Opportunity rovers have been making discoveries on the Red Planet since January 2004. Each is equipped with 39 maxon micromotors.
“The Mars Rovers are incredibly resilient, considering the extreme environment the hardware experiences every day,” said John Callas, project manager at Jet Propulsion Laboratory (JPL), the NASA agency responsible for the mission. Together, Spirit and Opportunity have driven more than 21 kilometres, climbed mountains, descended into craters and struggled through sand dunes.
Each Martian Rover is equipped with 39 maxon micromotors
The story so far…
The success of the mission has surpassed all expectations: the American Space Agency NASA originally expected these robots to be operational for just three months. But even after five years, the six-wheeled vehicles are still travelling around Mars and relaying exciting data back to Earth – so far, 36 gigabytes across distances of between 50 and 400 million kilometres, depending on the position of the planets.
Spirit landed in Gusev Crater on 4 January 2004 (CET). Scientists chose this landing site south of the Martian equator because they suspected a lake used to be located there. The aim of the mission was to prove that there used to be liquid water on Mars. Three weeks later, the twin craft, Opportunity, landed on Meridiani Planum on the opposite side of the planet. The two rovers, which are each 1,6 metres long and 1,5 metres high, were equipped with cameras, two spectrometers and a microscope for geological investigations. In March 2004 NASA first reported on rock formations that were believed to have been formed by water. Today it is assumed that there was liquid water on the surface of Mars for a long period of time.
maxon drives Mars Rovers
Each rover is equipped with 39 DC motors from the Swiss drive specialist maxon motor. The precision drives are used for driving the robotic arms, rock drilling, operating the cameras, the steering mechanism, and for the six wheels that drive the heavy vehicles (each weighing nearly 180 kg) over the planet’s surface.
The motors themselves are standard products with diameters of 20 and 25 mm that deliver an efficiency level of more than 90%. Minor modifications were required to enable them to cope with the harsh conditions. The equipment has to be able to withstand temperature changes on the surface of Mars, which can range from around -120°C to +25°C, vibrations and the special atmosphere.
The European Space Agency ESA will also be sending a rover to Mars in 2016 to search for signs of life. maxon motors will ensure that they have the right drives.
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