Mars Rovers
by David Kohanbash on September 1, 2014
Hi all
It is surprisingly hard to find a list of the technology used in the mars rovers. Here is a quick post summarizing some of the technology used in the NASA JPL Mars rovers. The list is only partialy complete since I do not have all of the information. Please leave comments below to help me complete this table or to add more sections.
| Technology | Sojourner | Spirit & Opportunity (MER) | Curiosity (MSL) | Unnamed (MARS2020) |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Size/Mass | 0.65×0.48×0.3m 10.6kg | 1.6×2.3×1.5m 170kg | 3×2.7x2m 899kg | Based on Curiosity |
| Power Source | Solar – Applied Solar Energy Corporation, Gallium Arsenide on Germanium cells, 18% efficient | Solar – Spectrolab, Ultra Triple Junction (UJT) cells, 25.7% efficient, 55 parallel strings of 20 cells each | RTG – Plutonium-238 dioxide | RTG – Possibly flight spare from Curiosity |
| Batteries | SAFT America provided 1, lithium battery, 40 amp-hour, 8-11V nominal voltage | 2 lithium ion w/ JPL developed low temp electrolyte | 2 lithium ion batteries. With 42 amp-hours each. | |
| Motor Drivers | ||||
| Actuators | Maxon | Maxon RE25 motors with planatary and harmonic drive gear stages | Actuator stacks developed by Aeroflex Corp. Stainless steal gearbox with Braycote lubricant | |
| Computers | 2 MHz Intel 80C85 running a custom OS, 512KB RAM, 176KB Flash | 20Mhz BAE RAD6000 running VxWorks, 128MB RAM, 256MB Flash, 3MB EEPROM | 132Mhz BAE RAD750 running VxWorks, 256MB RAM, 2GB Flash, 256KB EEPROM | |
| Radios | CE-505 UHF Radio | 1 X band radio with 15W amp feeding both HGA and LGA antennas. Electra-Lite Software defined radios feeding UHF antenna. | ||
| Antennas | UHF | 3: HGA- Unidirection direct to earth Xband with a throughput of 1850 bits/sec on a gimbal, LGA- omnidirectional to earth, and UHF to orbiter. | 3: HGA- Unidirection direct to earth Xband on a gimbal, LGA- omnidirectional to earth, and UHF to orbiter. | |
| Science Instruments | Alpha Proton X-ray Spectrometer, wheel abrasion experiment, materials adherence experiment | Panoramic imager, Miniature Thermal Emission Spectrometer, Mössbauer spectrometer, Alpha Particle X-Ray, Magnets for collecting dust, Microscopic Imager, Rock Abrasion Tool | Alpha-particle X-ray spectrometer, CheMin: Chemistry and Mineralogy, Sample Analysis at Mars, Radiation Assessment Detector, Dynamic Albedo of Neutrons, Rover Environmental Monitoring Station, 5 cameras (including ChemCam and Mars Descent Imager | |
| Rover Instruments | BW stereo cameras, color camera, laser striper, accelerometers | Nav cameras | 12 engineering/navigation cameras | |
| Camera System | Lots of detail here | Lots of detail here | ||
| Landing Method | Parachute and then bouncing ball | Parachute and then bouncing ball | Controlled with parachute and skycrane (ie lowered down from a platform midair) | Probably same as Curiosity |
| Mobility System | 6 wheels, 3 per side, rocker-bogie | 6 wheels, 3 per side, rocker-bogie | 6 wheels, 3 per side, rocker-bogie | Probably same as others |
Sources:
http://www.federallabs.org/flc/news/top-stories/articles/?pt=top-stories/articles/0307-01.jsp
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mars_2020
http://solarsystem.nasa.gov/news/display.cfm?News_ID=40083
http://mars.jpl.nasa.gov/mer/technology/is_severe_environments.html
Click to access mslTechnicalCook.pdf
http://hobbiton.thisside.net/rovermanual/
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Comparison_of_embedded_computer_systems_on_board_the_Mars_rovers
http://mars.jpl.nasa.gov/MPF/roverpwr/power.html
http://mars.jpl.nasa.gov/msl/mission/rover/communications/
http://mars.jpl.nasa.gov/MPF/rovercom/itworks.html#rover-radio
Click to access 12-1042_A1b.pdf
Click to access id1295328-Paper-003.pdf
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mars_Pathfinder#Sojourner_rover
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mars_Exploration_Rover
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mars_Science_Laboratory
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