March 2020: spacecraft subjected to brutal tests for launch

NASA will not leave any untreated Martian rocks while it will prepare the next Mars robot for the chaos of space travel and landing on the Red Planet.

Over the last two months, the Mars 2020 probe has been subjected to a number of extreme tests designed to ensure its ability to withstand intense rocket launch and extreme conditions of space. NASA's reaction propulsion laboratory has subjected the futuristic engine to tests of "acoustic and thermal vacuum" – and it has succeeded hands down.

The test involved blasting the spacecraft with sound levels of up to 150 decibels – the type of level you would hear standing next to a jet at takeoff – to replicate the launch environment, according to the test. Andy Rose, Director JPL Environmental Testing Facilities.

After the sound tests were done six times, NASA submitted the March 2020 rover to a brutal test that duplicated the gap in space. To do this, the spacecraft had to be transported to the space simulator and suspended in the air, as shown in the image above.

"We've put it in space by placing the probe in this huge vacuum chamber that we have here at JPL," said David Gruel, responsible for assembly, tests and launches in a statement. "We suck the atmosphere, then cool some parts and cook others while testing the performance of the entire spacecraft."

The installation does not really reach full emptiness, but it is really very cold. The team lowered the temperature in the room to -200 degrees Fahrenheit (about 129 degrees Celsius). But in space, moving robots are also subjected to unshielded radiation from the sun. NASA has lit a handful of powerful lights on the spacecraft. The whole process takes a little more than a week.

"Everything looked awesome – which is a good thing, because the next time this pile of spaceships falls into depression, she'll be on her way to Mars for good," Gruel said.

March 2020 will leave Cape Canaveral Land in Florida in July 2020. It is expected to arrive at Mars Crater Jezero on February 18, 2021. March 2020 will follow a long list of Martian robots built and operated by NASA, including the recently deceased rover Opportunity. NASA bid farewell to this brave explorer in February, after a dust storm surrounding the planet destroyed his battery. However, the robot world is still occupied by residents. An explorer – Curiosity – and a marsquake detector – InSight – currently lives and works on its surface.