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The camera components are standard models, but the printed circuit board that manages their interface and power supply was designed by JPL. It was then built by Tempo Automation, based in San Francisco. Founded in 2013, right after the announcement of the Mars 2020 mission by NASA, Tempo used this work to improve its manufacturing processes.
As the name suggests, Tempo Automation focuses on the fast and automated production of printed circuit boards, even in small batches. One set of tools that the company offers for this purpose is the process of making each component ‘traceable’, of keeping track of who touched it and what was done to it at every step of the card production process. , as well as from the component batch the piece came from. This information makes it easier to focus on the cause of a problem and see what other cards might have been affected, said Shashank Samala, co-founder of Tempo.
To meet JPL’s rigorous documentation requirements, Tempo added X-ray images, ion cleanliness data, and data from automated optical inspection for each component, which are now part of the company’s standard procedure.
A tool unique to Tempo is what it calls manufacturing simulation – software that translates a computer-aided design (CAD) model into a photorealistic representation of what the final board will look like. A team was in the process of prototyping the tool when JPL’s work began in early 2018, and that work helped them complete it, Samala said. He made his debut the following year.
The simulation allows customers to check their designs for any issues or defects before production begins, he said. “A simple mistake can cost a lot of money and time.”
While it was designed to help customers finalize their designs, the company has found it to be useful internally as well. The manufacturing process can cause discrepancies between the original CAD model and the final product, Samala explained. The simulation “serves as a source of truth in the factory, to communicate the intention of the designer. The first thing we look at is simulation. “
He said delivering a product that meets NASA standards has helped the company get into several other space systems, including satellites and rockets.
Meanwhile, Chris Basset, who designed the JPL circuit board, is anxiously awaiting the moment when the camera images will be sent back from Mars after Perseverance lands on February 18, 2021. “It’s so outside of what we usually do is super exciting, ”he says. “I can’t wait to see these images.”
Ultraviolet lasers look for chemical clues
Another technology with roots stretching far back to NASA’s Mars exploration program is also first flying to Perseverance and has many potential applications here on Earth.
When two longtime colleagues founded Photon Systems in 1997, research showed incredible promise for spectrometers – devices that use light to determine the composition of a sample – operating at ultraviolet (UV) wavelengths. deep. These had the potential to identify a bacterium or to detect even the slightest chemical trace. But the light sources in the 220 to 250 nanometer range were too large, heavy, and susceptible to environmental interference, and had many other problems.
William Hug and Ray Reid set out to develop a miniature, lightweight and rugged deep UV laser source for field spectroscopy. Their first outside investment came in 1998 from a pair of SBIR contracts with JPL, which was interested in a spectrometer capable of detecting nucleic and amino acids, organic materials that are the basis of all known life. Since then, the Covina, California-based company has received a number of NASA SBIRs, primarily with JPL, as well as funding from NASA programs to develop instruments for planetary and astrobiological science.
The space agency will now get the first big returns on its long investment in technology: Perseverance is equipped with the Scanning Habitable Environment with Raman and Luminescence for Organics and Chemicals (SHERLOC) instrument, which uses a Photon Systems laser to locate clues previously invisible. in his search for signs of past life on Mars.
While the team wouldn’t expect to find bacteria on Mars, organic material that exists near the surface can be identified using SHERLOC. On Earth, the same technology can be used to identify organic material for a variety of other purposes.
Deep UV photons interact strongly with many materials, especially those containing organic molecules. This results in higher detection sensitivity and greater accuracy compared to infrared or even visible light laser sources.
Deep UV spectroscopy has been performed in research labs, but Hug and Reid came up with a construction that was much smaller, simpler, and less expensive to build than any existing alternative. “Deep UV lasers start at $ 100,000. That’s why they’re not used in industry, ”Hug said, noting that lab instruments using the technology could take three lab tables and take a month to install.
A major challenge has been the level of perfection required by the technology. The same sensitivities that allow tiny, high-energy wavelengths to detect even a virus make them vulnerable to the smallest defects. A microscopic imperfection in a lens or other surface can disturb or scatter them, and Hug said it took advancements in several industries to meet the necessary standards.
Photon Systems is focusing on two types of spectroscopy where deep UV laser sources offer major advantages over long-standing spectrometer technology, and SHERLOC will use both. Fluorescence spectroscopy observes the light that most organic and inorganic materials emit when excited by certain ultraviolet wavelengths, much like a detergent glowing under black light. Each emits a distinct spectral “fingerprint”.
Raman spectroscopy, on the other hand, observes the light that a molecule scatters, some of which travel to different wavelengths due to the interaction with the vibrations of molecular bonds in the sample. These wavelength shifts can be used to identify materials in a sample. The higher energy photons of UV light cause a much stronger Raman scattering signal from organic molecules than low frequency light. And since deep UV light is not present in natural fluorescence or in sunlight, using these very short wavelengths eliminates sources of interference.
In recent years, the company has started to develop the technology into products, including sensors and wearable devices that monitor personal exposure to contaminants, as well as laboratory equipment. Their biggest markets now are the pharmaceutical, food processing and wastewater treatment industries, Hug said. Deep UV can identify and measure certain compounds at much lower concentrations than any other method, providing unprecedented precision in quality control, whether measuring active ingredients in pharmaceuticals or ensuring the cleanliness of machines and installations.
In wastewater treatment, technology can identify and measure contaminants, allowing the operator to tailor the treatment process and save energy for ozone infusion and aeration. “For a small wastewater treatment plant, the entire system pays for itself in less than a month,” said Hug.
One application the military has invested in is identifying bacteria and viruses. Determining what bacteria are present in a wound, for example, would help identify the right antibiotic to treat it, rather than using broad-spectrum antibiotics that risk causing drug resistance.
And fast and affordable deep UV spectroscopy holds promise for medical research, from diagnostics to the identification of proteins, peptides, and other biological materials.
“NASA has been a constant companion on our journey to this day, and the laser is only part of the story,” Hug said. “It is also the deep UV Raman and fluorescence instruments that we have built for NASA and the Department of Defense over the years that are now bringing breakthroughs in pharmaceutical, wastewater and quality of life. water in general, and now clinical testing for viruses.
On Mars, SHERLOC will search for organic materials and analyze minerals surrounding possible signs of life so researchers can understand their context, said Luther Beegle, senior researcher for SHERLOC at JPL. This will provide more detail on the history of Mars and also help identify samples for return to Earth. The instrument, which also includes a camera capable of microscopic imaging, will be able to map the mineral and organic composition of a rock in great detail, providing a lot of important data.
“We’re going to do a whole new measurement on Mars,” Beegle said. “This is something that has never been attempted before. We think we’re really going to move the needle on the science of Mars and find some good samples to bring back.
NASA has a long history of transferring technology to the private sector. The agency’s Spinoff publication showcases NASA technologies that have evolved into commercial products and services, demonstrating the broader benefits of U.S. investment in its space program. Spinoff is a publication of the Technology Transfer Program of NASA’s Space Technology Missions Directorate.
For more information on how NASA is bringing space technology to Earth, visit:
spinoff.nasa.gov
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