[meteorite-list] Shaking ExoMars

From: Ron Baalke <baalke_at_meteoritecentral.com>
Date: Mon, 8 Apr 2013 08:59:40 -0700 (PDT)
Message-ID: <201304081559.r38Fxe6P006441_at_zagami.jpl.nasa.gov>

http://www.esa.int/Our_Activities/Space_Science/Shaking_ExoMars
  
Shaking ExoMars
European Space Agency
8 April 2013

The structural model of the Entry, Descent and Landing
Demonstrator Module, or EDM, of ESA's 2016 ExoMars mission has
been subjected to a series of intense shaker tests to simulate the
rigours of launching into space.

EDM will be launched to Mars together with the Trace Gas Orbiter
and will test key landing technologies in preparation for the 2018
ExoMars rover mission and subsequent missions to Mars.

The orbiter will search for evidence of methane and other
atmospheric gases that could be signatures of active biological or
geological processes. It will also act as a relay for EDM and the
ExoMars rover, which will search the planet's surface and drill to
depths of 2 m, looking for signs of life, past and present.

Before being launched to the Red Planet, each component of the
mission must undergo thorough testing to certify it for the
journey from Earth to the surface of Mars, and for the harsh space
environment.

EDM arrived at ESTEC, ESA's technical centre in Noordwijk, the
Netherlands, in mid-February, on a lorry from the Turin facility
of Thales Alenia Space in Italy.

After unpacking in one of ESTEC's cleanrooms, it was subjected to
a leak-test, to verify the bio-seal between its main structural
elements, the aeroshell, front shield and back cover.

The bio-seal prevents contamination of the inside of EDM from
Earth-borne organisms during ground transportation and testing.

After that, EDM has undergone a series of vibration tests on the
ESTEC Test Centre Multishaker and QUAD shaker. These intense tests
qualify the spacecraft design by ensuring that it will be able to
withstand the vibrations it will experience when it lifts off on a
Proton rocket in 2016.

During the tests, EDM was mounted on a table where it was shaken
up and down or from side to side for several minutes over a
frequency range of 5 Hz to 2 kHz.

Afterwards, another leak demonstrated that the bio-seal had not
been degraded by the vibration tests.

The EDM structural model has now returned to the Turin factory,
where it will undergo further structural testing. This will
include tests to simulate entering the martian atmosphere and
deploying the module's parachutes.

At Mars, EDM will hit the atmosphere at 21 000 km/h, decelerating
to just 15 km/h in less than 8 minutes.

The ExoMars missions in 2016 and 2018 are being performed by ESA
in partnership with Russia's Roscosmos space agency.
Received on Mon 08 Apr 2013 11:59:40 AM PDT