Components from TraceParts catalogs are used everywhere, even on the planet Mars

The Spirit and Opportunity NASA rovers have been making discoveries on the Red Planet since January 2004. Both are driven by 39 of maxon’s micromotors, available as free downloadable 3D CAD models from www.tracepartsonline.net

St Romain, France – September 22, 2010 – “The Mars rovers are incredibly resilient, considering the extreme environment the hardware experiences every day”, said John Callas, Project Manger 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.

The success of the mission 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 fifty and four hundred 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 Mars’ 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 both 1.6 metres long and 1.5 metres high were not only equipped with cameras, but also 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 once liquid water on the surface of Mars during a long period of time.

maxon electrodrives set the Mars rovers in motion.
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 6 wheels that drive the heavy vehicles (each weighing nearly 180 kg) over the planet’s surface.

he motors themselves are standard products with diameters of 20 and 25 mm that deliver an efficiency level of more than 90%, like those available as free 3D CAD models on www.tracepartsonline.net. 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.

About maxon motor

maxon motor is the world’s leading supplier of high-precision drive systems. More than 40 years’ experience, constant innovation, top-quality products and competent customer service make maxon motor a reliable partner in the drive technology sector. We are driven by your specific requirements. The product range incorporated in the modular system is comprehensive:

• > DC motors with ironless winding and flat motors with iron core (up to 500W output power, mechanical and electronic commutation)
• > Planetary gears, spur gears and special gears
• > Sensors (encoders, DC tachos, resolvers)
• > Servo amplifiers, position controllers
• > High-tech CIM and MIM components
• > Customer specific drive solutions

maxon motor is a Swiss company headquartered in Sachseln (Central Switzerland) that employs over 1500 staff worldwide. Its sales companies based in over 30 countries provide a locally-based and competent customer service. maxon motor has production sites at its head office in Switzerland as well as in Germany and Hungary. maxon motor helps provide innovative solutions at competitive prices for numerous applications in various markets, such as industrial automation, medical technology, security technology, instrumentation, communications, consumer applications etc.
For more information about maxon motor, please visit www.maxonmotor.com

About TraceParts

TraceParts is a leading digital engineering content company, offering customers progressive business solutions through powerful web based products and services. TraceParts helps customers improve marketing efficiencies by increasing the value of their existing digital product data. The tracepartsonline.net CAD portal is freely available to millions of CAD users worldwide. For more information, please visit www.traceparts.com