Tag: Perseverance Mars Rover robotic arm

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Sample Handling System of Mars 2020 Perseverance Rover

Adaptive Caching Assembly of the Mars 2020 Perseverance Rover – part 1

The Mars 2020 Perseverance Rover‘s adaptive caching assembly is one of the three main components of the sample caching system. The other two main components are the robotic arm and the turret assembly, which are introduced in more detail in [Robotic Arm the Mars 2020 Perseverance Rover] and [Turret of the Mars 2020 Perseverance Rover].

The Mars 2020 Perseverance Rover‘s adaptive caching assembly is located inside of the rover and on the front of the body. There are mainly 6 sub-assemblies of the Mars 2020 Perseverance Rover‘s adaptive caching assembly: the sample tube storage assembly, the sample handling arm, the dispenser, volume, tube assembly, the vision station, the sealing station, and the bit carousel. For our 1:2 Mars Rover Replica, we will replicate the part on the front of the body, and we will try our best to perfectly replicate the part that is inside of the rover’s body.

The Mars 2020 Perseverance Rover‘s adaptive caching assembly’s sample tube storage assembly is for storing both empty sample tubes and filled sample tubes. Although they are placed together, there are sheaths to protect them from contaminating each other. There are a total of 39 sample tubes in the sample tube storage assembly.

The Mars 2020 Perseverance Rover‘s adaptive caching assembly’s sample handling arm is for transferring the sample tubes to different stations in the adaptive caching assembly or for moving the sample tubes to the bit carousel so that the sample tubes are inserted into the drill bits for sample caching purposes.

The Mars 2020 Perseverance Rover‘s adaptive caching assembly’s dispenser, volume, tube assembly is to calculate the number of samples collected and to reduce possible contamination. There are 3 sample tubes in the dispenser, volume, tube assembly. There are 7 seal dispensers, and each seal dispenser has 7 seals, so there are 49 seals in total, 7 of which are spares.

The Mars 2020 Perseverance Rover‘s adaptive caching assembly’s vision station not only takes photos of the sample cached but also performs a second-time calculation for the amount of each sample collected.

The Mars 2020 Perseverance Rover‘s adaptive caching assembly’s sealing station is to seal a sample permanently by triggering seals in the sample tubes.

The Mars 2020 Perseverance Rover‘s adaptive caching assembly’s bit carousel is to keep all the drill bits and helps to insert a sample tube into a drill bit for sample caching.

For our 1:2 Mars Rover Replica, we will try our best to perfectly replicate these 6 sub-assemblies. Although they will not have the same functions as the real Mars 2020 Perseverance Rover‘s adaptive caching assembly, they will be fully motorized and you can simulate the sample handling movement with the remote control.

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Sample Handling System of Mars 2020 Perseverance Rover

Robotic Arm the Mars 2020 Perseverance Rover

The Mars 2020 Perseverance Rover‘s robotic arm is located on the front of the rover’s chassis. It has a length of 7 feet or 2.1 meters, which is the same length as its predecessor, the Curiosity rover.  Our 1:2 Mars Rover Replica‘s robotic arm has a length of 3.5 feet or 1.05 meters. The Mars 2020 Perseverance Rover‘s robotic arm wields a rotating 45kg (or 99 lbs) turret assembly, which is 15kg (or 34 lbs) heavier than the Curiosity rover’s turret assembly because it carries bigger science instruments and a bigger corer for drilling compared to the Curiosity rover. The weight of our Mars Rover Replica‘s robotic arm will not be that heavy, because the instruments on it will only be decorations (but ultra-realistic decorations), and the material we use will be lightweight.

The purpose of the Mars 2020 Perseverance Rover‘s robotic arm is to help with exploring the Martian surface and collecting valuable Martian samples. It mimics the human arm – it has joints at its “shoulder”, “elbow” and “wrist” for maximum degrees of freedom. Our Mars Rover Replica‘s robotic arm will also have as many degrees of freedom as the real Mars 2020 Perseverance Rover‘s robotic arm. If the Mars 2020 Perseverance Rover is a human scientist, then the robotic arm is his human arm. At the end of the robotic arm, there is a turret assembly or a hand, and on the hand, there are the science instruments (SHERLOC, WASTON, PIXL), the gDRT, the Corer, and the ground contact sensor which are for Martian rock and soil sample caching. The gDRT and the ground contact sensor are introduced in [Turret of the Mars 2020 Perseverance Mars Rover].

There are some small motors or rotary actuators on the Mars 2020 Perseverance Rover‘s robotic arm, and with these actuators, the Mars 2020 Perseverance Rover‘s robotic arm has 5 degrees of freedom or 5 flexible joints: the shoulder azimuth joint, the shoulder elevation joint, the elbow joint, the wrist joint and the turret joint. Our Mars Rover Replica‘s robotic arm will also have these motors – not the same type or the same size, but the function of the motors is the same –  so that the Mars Rover Replica‘s robotic arm is also 5 degree of freedom. The flexibility of the Mars 2020 Perseverance Rover‘s robotic arm allows it to rotate the turret accurately to a location of interest so that the corer can start its initial abrading operation for the later sampling process, or for the science instruments analyzing process.

After the science team on Earth decides which rocks or regolith to sample, Mars 2020 Perseverance Rover will give the robotic arm the “go” for sample caching. The Mars 2020 Perseverance Rover’s robotic arm will rotate the corer to an angle that is best for the drill bit to operate. Depending on the condition of the drilling site, the drill will choose the rotary mode or the percussive mode for the sample caching. After the sample rocks or regolith are collected, the Mars 2020 Perseverance Rover’s robotic arm will transfer the sample tubes to the bit carousel for the later processes. Although the Mars Rover Replica‘s robotic arm doesn’t have the function like the real Mars 2020 Perseverance Rover, users can control the Mars Rover Replica to drive and mimic the movement of the robotic arm.

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Sample Handling System of Mars 2020 Perseverance Rover

Turret of the Mars 2020 Perseverance Rover

The Mars 2020 Perseverance Rover‘s turret is located at the end of the 2.1-meter-long, 5-degree-freedom robotic arm. It carries the science instruments SHERLOC, WASTON, and PIXL to help with the sample handling process. Besides the three instruments, there are also the gDRT(Gaseous Dust Removal Tool) and the Corer. The Corer is positioned in the middle of the instruments. SHERLOC and WASTON are by one side of the Corer, while gDRT and PIXL are on the opposite side of the Corer. Collectively, they form the Mars 2020 Perseverance Rover‘s turret assembly. Our 1:2 Perseverance Mars Rover Replica will perfectly replicate the structure appearance of the Turret including the SHERLOC, WASTON, and PIXL instruments, the gDRT, and the Corer. 

The Mars 2020 Perseverance Rover‘s SHERLOC, WATSON, and PIXL instruments are introduced in more detail in [PIXL of the Mars 2020 Perseverance Rover Part 1], [PIXL of the Mars 2020 Perseverance Rover Part 2], [SHERLOC of the Mars 2020 Perseverance Rover], and [WATSON of the Mars 2020 Perseverance Rover]. With these scientific instruments the Mars 2020 Perseverance Rover‘s turret carries, the Mars 2020 Perseverance Rover is able to analyze the minerals and chemicals to study whether or not there was life or if it will be possible for humans to live on Mars by carefully and scientifically selecting the most valuable rock and soil samples to collect. Our Perseverance Mars Rover Replica‘s PIXL and the tools on it won’t have the functions as the real Mars 2020 Perseverance Rover, but the Perseverance Mars Rover Replica‘s PIXL replica will stimulate the movement when operating.  

After the Mars 2020 Perseverance Rover‘s robotic arm accurately transports the turret assembly to the location of interest, depending on what this specific mission’s purpose is, the corer will get one of the bits and will do an initial abrading operation. The Mars 2020 Perseverance Rover‘s turret then will rotate and find a position for gDRT to remove dust from the surface to prevent contamination preparing for the sample caching process. The gDRT is a sophisticated tool that consists of the following 7 components:

1. A supply tank with 159g of gaseous Nitrogen

2. A gas tank, or plenum tank which fills gas before every operation

3. Two supplementary supply valves for transferring gas from the supply tank to the plenum tank

4. A valve that releases the plenum tank’s gas

5. A nozzle that will blow the gas to the target surface

6. A valve that acts as the supply tank’s switch for releasing and loading gas before launch

7. A pressure transducer for the pressure reading

In the end, the Mars 2020 Perseverance Rover‘s turret will rotate to positions to allow SHERLOC, WASTON, and PIXL to work.

Our 1:2 Perseverance Mars Rover Replica will perfectly replicate the appearance structure of the gDRT down to very fine details, but it will not have the dust-removing function or the many components. 

Other than the mentioned tools, the Mars 2020 Perseverance Rover‘s turret assembly carries a sensor, the Ground Contact Sensor. The Ground Contact Sensor’s job is to prevent the Mars 2020 Perseverance Rover‘s turret from accidentally touching the ground by giving the robotic arm signals to stop if the turret gets too close to the ground. Our Perseverance Mars Rover Replica will perfectly replicate the appearance structure of Ground Contact Sensor but it will not actually be a sensor.

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Mars 2020 Perseverance Rover News

Mars 2020 Perseverance Rover Sends Panorama of Landing Site

A zoomable panorama of the Mars 2020 Perseverance Rover‘s landing site was released on the 24th of February, 2021. This panorama is stitched with 142 photos which were taken on the 21st of February, or Sol 3, by the MastCam-Z located on the Mars 2020 Perseverance Rover‘s Mast. The lower part of the panorama is the Mars 2020 Perseverance Rover‘s top deck, the MMRTG, and the robotic arm. The middle part of the panorama shows the Jezero Crater’s land, edge, and cliff. The upper part of the panorama shows the sky of Mars and what is said to be an ancient river by scientists.

Our 1:2 Perseverance Mars Rover Replica‘s MastCam-Z replica will also be able to take photos and you can see the photos instantly from a mini-screen.

The Mars 2020 Perseverance Rover‘s MastCam-Z is consists of two identical cameras that are 9.5 inches or 24.1 cm apart from each other on the mast’s eye level. They can take photos from afar and still show details very small. This way, the MMars 2020 Perseverance Rover doesn’t need to waste unnecessary power to approach a certain site but still is able to let the scientists see photos and decide if the sites are worthy to be studied.

Our Perseverance Mars Rover Replica‘s MastCam-Z replica will not have functions like the real Mars 2020 Perseverance Rover‘s MastCam-Z, but the appearance structure will be the same. If you are interested in our Mars Rover Replica, please check [1:2 Perseverance Mars Rover Replica Design and Building Diary].

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Mars 2020 Perseverance Rover News

Mars 2020 Perseverance Rover gets prepared for operations and sends back video of Mars

After landing on the 18th of 2021, the Mars 2020 Perseverance Rover ran an initial diagnosis and let Earth know its health condition the next day on the 19th of 2021. After checking everything is working normally, the Mars 2020 Perseverance Rover can prepare for the deployment of the Mast in around 2 days, which is originally lying on top of the rover.

We are building a 1:2 Perseverance Mars Rover Replica which will perfectly replicate the appearance of the real Mars 2020 Perseverance Rover. Users can simulate the Mars 2020 Perseverance Rover‘s mast deployment process with our Mars Rover Replica.

In the next few days, the Mars 2020 Perseverance Rover is expected to do its first test drive on the Martian land and test its robotic arm. Our 1:2 Perseverance Mars Rover Replica‘s robotic arm will be a perfect replica of the Mars 2020 Perseverance Rover‘s robotic arm and will have the same movability.

The science instruments are scheduled to complete health checkups in a few weeks, while the Mars 2020 Perseverance Rover’s Ingenuity Helicopter is expected to complete the checkup and prepare for flying in one or two months.

While descending and landing, the Mars 2020 Perseverance Rover took a video that shows color footage of its touchdown, but it was still being sent and processed as we speak at this moment. This is beyond excitement – the past rovers mainly sent black and white photos, but the Mars 2020 Perseverance Rover is able to send back color videos and photos.

Parking on the sands on Mars, the two Hazcams under the Mars 2020 Perseverance Rover took a photo of one wheel sinking in the Martian dirt. Our Rover Replica also has numerous cameras so that users can see from its point of view. If you are interested in our Mars Rover Replica, please check [1:2 Perseverance Mars Rover Replica Design and Building Diary].