The Right Approach: Get Ready for ISO 9001 Version 6
Dan’s Biz Bookshelf: ‘Still Broke: Walmart’s Remarkable Transformation'
Driving Innovation: Depth Routing Processes—Achieving Unparalleled Precision in Complex PCBs
NASA's Mars 2020 Rover Does Biceps Curls
July 29, 2019 | NASAEstimated reading time: 1 minute
The robotic arm on NASA's Mars 2020 rover does not have deltoids, triceps or biceps, but it can still curl heavy weights with the best. In the clean room of the Spacecraft Assembly Facility at the Jet Propulsion Laboratory in Pasadena, California, the rover's 7-foot-long (2.1-meter-long) arm handily maneuvers 88 pounds' (40 kilograms') worth of sensor-laden turret as it moves from a deployed to a stowed configuration.
The rover's arm includes five electrical motors and five joints (known as the shoulder azimuth joint, shoulder elevation joint, elbow joint, wrist joint and turret joint). The rover's turret includes HD cameras, the Scanning Habitable Environments with Raman & Luminescence for Organics & Chemicals (SHERLOC) science instrument, the Planetary Instrument for X-ray Lithochemistry (PIXL), and a percussive drill and coring mechanism.
On Mars, the arm and turret will work together, allowing the rover to work as a human geologist would: by reaching out to interesting geologic features, abrading, analyzing and even collecting them for further study via Mars 2020's Sample Caching System, which will collect samples of Martian rock and soil that will be returned to Earth by a future mission.
"This was our first opportunity to watch the arm and turret move in concert with each other, making sure that everything worked as advertised — nothing blocking or otherwise hindering smooth operation of the system," said Dave Levine, integration engineer for Mars 2020. "Standing there, watching the arm and turret go through their motions, you can't help but marvel that the rover will be in space in less than a year from now and performing these exact movements on Mars in less than two."
Mars 2020 will launch from Cape Canaveral Air Force Station in Florida in July 2020. It will land at Jezero Crater on Feb. 18, 2021.
Charged with returning astronauts to the Moon by 2024, NASA's Artemis lunar exploration plans will establish a sustained human presence on and around the Moon by 2028. We will use what we learn on the Moon to prepare to send astronauts to Mars.
JPL is building and will manage operations of the Mars 2020 rover for the NASA Science Mission Directorate at the agency's headquarters in Washington.
Share on:
Testimonial
"We’re proud to call I-Connect007 a trusted partner. Their innovative approach and industry insight made our podcast collaboration a success by connecting us with the right audience and delivering real results."
Julia McCaffrey - NCAB GroupSuggested Items
EV Group Achieves Breakthrough in Hybrid Bonding Overlay Control for Chiplet Integration
09/12/2025 | EV GroupEV Group (EVG), a leading provider of innovative process solutions and expertise serving leading-edge and future semiconductor designs and chip integration schemes, today unveiled the EVG®40 D2W—the first dedicated die-to-wafer overlay metrology platform to deliver 100 percent die overlay measurement on 300-mm wafers at high precision and speeds needed for production environments. With up to 15X higher throughput than EVG’s industry benchmark EVG®40 NT2 system designed for hybrid wafer bonding metrology, the new EVG40 D2W enables chipmakers to verify die placement accuracy and take rapid corrective action, improving process control and yield in high-volume manufacturing (HVM).
ROHM Develops Ultra-Compact CMOS Op Amp: Delivering Industry-Leading Ultra-Low Circuit Current
09/11/2025 | ROHMROHM’s ultra-compact CMOS Operational Amplifier (op amp) TLR1901GXZ achieves the industry’s lowest operating circuit current.
I-Connect007 Launches New Podcast Series on Ultra High Density Interconnect (UHDI)
09/12/2025 | I-Connect007I-Connect007 is excited to announce the debut of its latest On the Line With... podcast series, which shines a spotlight on one of the most important emerging innovations in electronics manufacturing: Ultra-High-Density Interconnect (UHDI).
I-Connect007 Launches New Podcast Series on Ultra High Density Interconnect (UHDI)
09/10/2025 | I-Connect007I-Connect007 is excited to announce the debut of its latest podcast series, which shines a spotlight on one of the most important emerging innovations in electronics manufacturing: Ultra-High-Density Interconnect (UHDI). The series kicks off with Episode One, “Ultra HDI: What does it mean to people? Why would they want it?” Host Nolan Johnson is joined by guest expert John Johnson, Director of Quality and Advanced Technology at American Standard Circuits (ASC).
KYZEN to Feature High-Reliability MICRONOX Chemistries at IMAPS Symposium
09/10/2025 | KYZEN'KYZEN, the global leader in innovative environmentally responsible cleaning chemistries, is pleased to announce its participation at the International Symposium on Microelectronics or IMAPS Symposium, taking place September 29-October 3 at Town & Country Resort in San Diego, CA.