- Title: 'Shake and Bake' test to prove Mars Rover's red planet readiness
- Date: 26th April 2018
- Summary: STEVENAGE, ENGLAND, UK (APRIL 20, 2018) (REUTERS) TECHNICIANS WORKING IN THE AIRBUS DEFENCE AND SPACE CLEAN ROOM TECHNICIANS STANDING NEXT TO THE MARS ROVER STRUCTURAL THERMAL MODEL VARIOUS OF ABBIE HUTTY, EXOMARS DELIVERY MANAGER, TALKING TO A TECHNICIAN (SOUNDBITE) (English) ABBIE HUTTY, EXOMARS DELIVERY MANAGER, SAYING: "The temperatures on Mars are extremely cold but also there is no air so when you are in the sun there is very little breeze to cool you down so you can get minus 130 degrees Centigrade at night at the poles and in the daytime we could have parts of the Rover heated up to maybe 85, 90 degrees Centigrade just from that sunlight beating down on it." WORKERS INSIDE THE CLEAN ROOM / MARS ROVER VARIOUS OF THE MARS ROVER (SOUNDBITE) (English) ABBIE HUTTY, EXOMARS DELIVERY MANAGER, SAYING: "That's the most exciting thing that we've got that hasn't really been done before is we've got a huge drill. So we can drill up to 2 metres into the Martian crust and that's where we think that life would be if it was still surviving on Mars because at the surface we know that the radiation is so extreme that it wouldn't be able to survive. So down below different layers of rocks, maybe in a fissure between two different layers of rocks where there's water deposits and that kind of thing that could be a nice place for that life to still be surviving." VARIOUS OF FOLDED SOLAR PANEL ARRAY CAMERA POLE WAITING TO BE FITTED TO THE MARS ROVER (SOUNDBITE) (English) ABBIE HUTTY, EXOMARS DELIVERY MANAGER, SAYING: "One of the big science developments that we've been working on here in Stevenage is the autonomous navigation. Because Mars is such a long way away and also because the Rover itself can only communicate with the orbiters going around Mars at the time and they may only go over the Rover once a day, maybe two or three times a day if we're lucky, so we only have that opportunity to actually communicate with our Rover. So while it's just on its own on the planet surface if it can look at what's in front of it, decide where it's got to go, how it's going to pick its path safely through that and drive all by itself you can do a lot more science during the lifetime of the Rover." PROTOTYPE MARS ROVER MOVING IN THE 'MARS YARD' VARIOUS OF THE ROVER'S WHEELS MOVING (SOUNDBITE) (English) ABBIE HUTTY, EXOMARS DELIVERY MANAGER, SAYING: "The cool thing about these wheels is that they are fully metallic. So we are trying to get the traction and the grip driving across sand that you would get maybe from a rubber wheel but without taking rubber because it's an organic molecule. We're looking for life on Mars so we don’t want to take anything that's organic from Earth with us. So we've managed to create this wheel that's fully flexible but made out of effectively a membrane, a spring, of metal. And that can give you all of the suspension that you need, all of the grip that you need climbing over either rocks and conforming to the shape of the rocks or actually digging through deep sand." VARIOUS OF HUTTY LOOKING AT THE MARS ROVER (SOUNDBITE) (English) ABBIE HUTTY, EXOMARS DELIVERY MANAGER, SAYING: "Our autonomy is intelligent enough that it would make sure that it doesn't ever go down a slope that is too steep or try and climb up any rock that is too high, that kind of thing. But we do also have an engineering twin, effectively, of the Rover that we keep here on earth so if there were to be any difficulties we could demonstrate any tricky manoeuvres with that one here, try lots of different scenarios and work out what our best option is to then execute on the rover on Mars." SPEEDED UP VIDEO OF ROVER DRIVING OVER THE CAMERA
- Embargoed: 10th May 2018 11:16
- Keywords: ExoMars Rover Mars Airbus Defence and Space Stevenage Abbie Hutty Structural and Thermal Model shake and bake
- Location: STEVENAGE, ENGLAND, UK
- City: STEVENAGE, ENGLAND, UK
- Country: United Kingdom
- Topics: Science,Space Exploration
- Reuters ID: LVA0018D2EKBF
- Aspect Ratio: 16:9
- Story Text: The European Space Agency's mission to search for life on Mars has reached an important milestone with its six-wheeled surface rover prototype ready for its "shake and bake".
Built by Airbus Defence and Space just north of London in Stevenage, Britain's unlikely "Space City", the so-called Structural Thermal Model is being packed off to Toulouse for a raft of tests to ensure the real ExoMars rover handles anything the red planet can throw at it.
Europe's last attempt to land a rover vehicle on the surface of Mars ended in disappointment in 2016 when Schiaparelli span out of control and slammed into the red sand.
If the 2020 mission goes to plan it would be Europe's first rover on Mars, following several successful NASA landings.
The ESA rover will be more sophisticated though, featuring a two-metre exploration drill and an autonomous navigation system.
ExoMars Delivery Manager Abbie Hutty will be keeping a close eye on the prototype tests in Toulouse where the launch from a Russian rocket will be simulated as well as the massive temperature variations it will endure 54 million kilometres away on Mars.
"The temperatures on Mars are extremely cold but also there is no air so in the sun there is no breeze to cool you down so you can get minus 130 degrees Centigrade at night and in the daytime parts of the Rover may heat up to 85 or 90 Centigrade," Hutty, the youngest ever Fellow of the Institution of Mechanical Engineers, told Reuters.
Data sent back from the ESA's Mars Express satellite are helping scientists choose the most suitable landing site. Once safely on the surface the craft will trundle up to 100 metres per day, drilling into the Martian bedrock seeking evidence of life.
"That's the most exciting thing that hasn't been done before, we've got a huge two metre drill so it can go into the crust which is where we think life would be if it was still surviving because at the surface the radiation is extreme and conditions too hostile," Hutty said.
"Down below different layers of rock, maybe in a fissure where there may be water deposits could be a nice place for life to still be surviving."
Airbus's Stevenage complex features the Mars Yard - a mock-up of the planet's surface complete with specially dried sand, boulders and Mars-like light intensity, if not the radiation.
It provides a realistic landscape to test the ExoMars Rover's autonomous navigation which will enable it to steer itself rather than wait 24 minutes for instructions from Earth.
Its six "wafer wheels" made of thin strips of metal and unique suspension system means it can scale rocks and roll across the sandy landscape.
Rubber wheels are not an option because they are 'organic' - which is also why the rover will be baked in an oven for three days to ensure no earthly bacteria makes the journey.
"The autonomous navigation is one of the big things we have been working on in Stevenage," Hutty said in the Stevenage centre Mars Yard. "If it can look at what's in front of it, decide where it has got to go, how it's going to pick it's path safely through that all by itself you can do a lot more science.
"The cool thing about the wheels is that they are fully metallic and give us the traction and grip of a rubber wheel without taking anything organic from earth. They will be able climb over rocks and also dig through deep sand."
Once testing is completed in France, work will begin on building the finished rover as well as a twin that will stay in Stevenage - just in case of the worst-case scenario.
"The autonomy is intelligent enough that is shouldn't ever go up or down a slope that's too steep, but we'll keep an engineering twin on earth so if there was any difficulty we could work out different scenarios and work out the best option to execute on the rover on Mars." - Copyright Holder: REUTERS
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