The Columbus engineering team has been working closely with the great minds at NASA JPL, supporting the Temporary Technical and Professional Support (TTAPS) contract. The team has recently finished a whirlwind of activities in support of the Mars 2020 mission.
Our engineers and technicians have been involved in a wide variety of activities related to the design, fabrication, and testing of the newest NASA Perseverance Rover. Columbus staff were instrumental in building and fabricating space hardware including sterile environment assembly of flight hardware; performing structural ability and stress testing; performing environmental testing; and preparing mission components for rocket flight. We performed thermal analysis and designed thermal aspects of the shroud for Mars 2020 SHERLOC instrument.
Additionally, our mechanical and electrical engineers developed and implemented test procedures for system-level testing of Mars 2020 avionics focusing on Entry, Descent and Landing systems. We also supported the design and engineering for Perseverance on systems for caching, parachute decelerator, cameras, optics, heat exchanger, robotic arm, telecom installations, wave guides, turret vacuum, tooling, harness routing and installation, deflectors, and the Mars 2020 Rover chassis.
Columbus is proud to have been involved in this project! This has been a long, challenging yet fruitful process, and the journey is only just beginning. NASA will be livestreaming the launch, which is scheduled for 7:50 AM EDT on July 30, 2020.
Visit the Mars 2020 website to learn more about the details.