Axon' products on Mars !

An electrical liaison developed by AXON’CABLE, specialist in interconnect systems for advanced electronic applications, located in Montmirail in the Champagne region, equips the analyzing camera installed on « Curiosity », the Rover vehicle sent to Mars by NASA and which landed on August 6, 2012. The mission of Curiosity The mission of « Curiosity » is to analyze rocks and dust from the Red planet to detect any potential signs of life. The mast unit of the ChemCam (Chemical Camera) situated at the top of the vehicle, is the French contribution to the project. This unit was developed by the French Centre of Space Radiation Studies, at the heart of the CNES space Center in Toulouse. The unit consists of a laser, a telescope, a radio-navigation camera and associated electronics. From a distance of up to 9 metres, the laser launches a powerful ray of more than 1 million watts onto the rocks, splitting the material and creating a luminous spark which is captured by the telescope and analyzed with the help of spectrometers. AXON’s participation AXON’s developed the liaison between the electronic system and the telescope. This 25cm long interconnect is composed of a flat semi-rigid cable, terminated at each end by a pair of 51 way Micro-D connectors. Each micro-D connector is equipped with interface gaskets design and manufacture by Addix. The link resists vibrations up to 50 G. It is protected against electromagnetic interference and meets the non-outgassing requirements needed in space. Micro-D connectors are only a third of the weight of the more traditional Sub-D connector used in space, and take up half the space. Indeed, Micro-D connectors are made of aluminum, the densit of which is only a third of that of brass, the material of the Sub-D connectors (2.7 compared to 8.5). Moreover, the distance between the Micro-D contacts (1.27mm) is half that of the Sub-D contacts (2.54mm). The development stages After the first contact between AXON’ and the French Center of Space Radiation Studies at the beginning of 2007 it took six months to design the link. Manufactured on AXON’s aerospace production site on Montmirail, Axon’ shipped the final product in March 2008. The cabling of AXON’s harness into the ChemCam war carried out in a cleanroom. Curiosity took off in November 2011 and landed on Mars on August 6 2012. During the first three months of the mission, NASA will operate the information collected by ChemCam in the USA. France will also contribute to the analysis in its control center in CNES Toulouse. It is the first time that a NASA mission will be partly handled by non Americans.

For more information on Axon' products on Mars ! talk to Axon Cable Ltd