NASA's March 2020 rover undergoes its first spin test – Xinhua

LOS ANGELES, Sept. 13 (Xinhua) – NASA's Jet Propulsion Laboratory (JPL) engineers have successfully completed a spin table test for the March 2020 rover to reveal its center of gravity, according to a statement from JPL.

This was the first rotation table test of the assembled rover, which is essential for a safe trip to Mars, scheduled for July 2020.

The 1,040 kg Martian vehicle was rotated clockwise and counter-clockwise at approximately 1 rpm on a rotating table in the clean room of the JPL Spacecraft Assembly Facility in Pasadena, California.

Engineers were looking for the center of gravity of the rover or the point at which the weight is evenly distributed on all sides.

The establishment of the center of gravity of the rover is a key element of the assembly process and ensures the proper movement of the space vehicle from launch to entry, descent and landing on Mars, as indicated by JPL.

Engineers can add weights to help balance the vehicle. In the end, they fixed nine tungsten weights totaling 20 kg to the frame of the mobile at predetermined attachment points to get the right center of gravity.

"The process of the rotation table is similar to the one used by a service station to balance a new tire before putting it on your car," said Lemil Cordero, mass-market engineer for Mars 2020 at JPL.

"We rotate the rover back and forth and look for asymmetries in its mass distribution, and then, as if your service station put small weights on the rim of the tire to balance it, we would place small Balance masses on the rover at specific locations to get its center of gravity exactly where we want it, "Cordero said.

A second and final spin-table test will be held at a NASA facility in Cape Canaveral, Florida, next spring, according to the JPL.

Constructed and managed by JPL engineers, the March 2020 rover will be launched on a United Launch Alliance Atlas V rocket in July 2020 from Space Launch Complex 41 in Cape Canaveral.

On February 18, 2021, when the rover lands on the crater of Jezero on Mars, it will be the first spacecraft in the history of planetary exploration, with the ability to precisely retarget its touch point during the landing sequence, according to JPL.