NASA paints March 2020 Rover Chassis

NASA's Jet Propulsion Laboratory

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NASA – logo – National Aeronautics and Space Administration

"data-medium-file =" http://www.clarksvilleonline.com/wp-content/uploads/2011/08/NASA.jpg "data-large-file =" http://www.clarksvilleonline.com/wp -content / uploads / 2011/08 / NASA.jpg "class =" alignleft size-full wp-image-85503″ title=”NASA – National Aeronautics and Space Administration "src =" http://www.clarksvilleonline.com/wp-content/uploads/2011/08/NASA.jpg "alt =" NASA – National Aeronautics and Space Administration "width =" 200 "height =" 165 "/>Pasadena, CA – When a friend of NASA John Campanella wanted his beloved Ferrari painted, he knew exactly who to call. After all, Campanella had been painting, pinstriping and even airbrushing flames on to cars, motorcycles, airplanes, 18-wheelers and guitars in his spare time for decades.

But that's not why the Ferrari cam driver to Campanella. He has been painting for NASA 's Jet Propulsion Laboratory in Pasadena, California, for over two decades. And if Campanella's work is good enough for the final frontier, his friend thought, it would be good enough for his black prancing stallion.

"We have a year at JPL, from fuselages," said Campanella. Mars rover Pathfinder, the Deep Impact mission, GRAIL, Juno and Cassini, and I think my paint is just about everywhere in the solar system. We just finished off the March 2020 chassis. And just about everything else we work on, there is only one March 2020 rover. We had to get as close as we can get it. "

SUV-sized, nuclear-powered six-wheel-drive vehicle for the Red Planet, we will begin four-and-a-half months before Campanella and his colleagues trained their highly-trained guns on the rover.

In mid-April 2018, more than 20 freshly-machined, large, shiny chunks of 7050 and 7075 aluminum that would make up the primary structure of the chassis were collected in a clean room in Building 18 at JPL, along with about a hundred smaller secondary parts. Over the following months, Mars 2020 engineers and technicians planned, measured, examined, consulted, became a single Mars rover chassis.

"The plan called for 610 rivets, 730 washers, 644 nuts and 964 mechanical fasteners to hold the rover chassis together," said Stephen Pakbaz, lead engineer for the March 2020 chassis assembly. "That means there are more than 1,000 holes in the March 2020 rover. But in almost all cases we do not just drill once for each hole; we drill three or more times – entirely by hand. "

Each hole in March 2020's chassis began its life as a hand-drilled pilot hole. Next, a larger bit is introduced to expand the hole slightly. Then a final drilling of the same hole takes place.

"We drill holes in steps because it gives us the best chance to catch any errors, stresses the metal less, and the increments make it easier to drill by hand," said Pakbaz. "It's a great job, but everyone knows what is at stake."

Prep Work

At the end of 5,000 engineering hours of assembly, involving more than 3,000 drillings and well beyond a thousand rivet and fastener applications, the rover's chassis was complete. But it was not ready for the paint of Campanella's team.

There are locations on the rover's place where paint is strictly limited – places where electronics boxes have to be bolted on, wiring harnesses are still to be run and attachment points for hypersensitive science instruments that require bare metal surfaces to perform their best.

"Any good job is a job," said Campanella. "I would not have freestyle flames on Camaro, and we sure do not have Mars rovers freestyle."

So on August 1st, 2018, the drills and rivet guns in Building 18 Room 102 vanished from sight, and in their place materialized metal stencils, tape measurers and roll upon roll of masking tape.

"You can find the masking tape we used on 2020 in just about any hardware store," said Ryan van Schilifgaarde, a support engineer for the Mars 2020 assembly. "But you will probably have a good time with your hands, and you will be able to use your wallet in your house, we will use a computer-controlled cutter to make sure each piece is exactly the size and shape we want it to be . "

Numbering more than 600, the pieces of masking tape for the rover came in all shapes and sizes. Many were smaller than a corner, but a few of the dimensions of a bagel, and one of the following has been shaped like a microwave oven. All were applied by hand and smoothed out to prevent bubbling.

"One hundred and thirty-five temporary sheet-metal stencils have also been applied during this time," said van Schilifgaarde. "They must be more rigid cover during this part of the build."

The masking team measured success by the millimeter, and more than one application of masking tape had to be received and reapplied after a visit from Quality Assurance. But with five March 2020 engineers logging 500 hours, the task was finally complete.

On August 6th, 2018, the March 2020 rover chassis – with oversize and masking tape, and then covered in sterile antistatic wrap – was gingerly forklifted 150 yards from Building 18 to JPL's paint shop.

"With any spacecraft, after you get the static wrap off and inspect the rover, you'll get better," said Campanella. "To prevent any chance of corrosion or oxidation, the rule is, once you start sanding, you have six hours to complete everything – sanding, priming and painting."

As spacecraft paint jobs go, the March 2020 rover was big, and occupied much of the paint room. Because of the rover's size, Campanella worked with just two other people from his six-person team: Patrick Esquivias and their assistant Eddie Castro. Up until two years ago Esquivias had been an aircraft mechanic. This was his first rover. Up until eight months ago, Castro painted houses. This was his 12th spacecraft.

The small team took the rover in stages. They painted the top deck first, then let them cure the sides. Another day off and they finished with the front and back. Even with the job spread out, sanding and meticulously cleaning the results of said sanding up over two of the six available hours.

But time constraints are just part of the job for Campanella's team. Whether it's an Earth orbiter, Mars lander or something destined for the outer planets, standardization, fastidiousness and a steady hand are always the order of the day.

"You can not think about where it's going or how much history it can make," said Campanella. "We use the same paint guns on the same setting and fire them from the same distance and move at the same speed each and every time."

The primer and paint used on March 2020 are far from hardware-store variety. Along with being able to adhere to aluminum, they have been provoked to endure the jolts, vibrations, UV rays and other indignities of a trip to Mars, more than enough to survive the Martian cold – all while not outgassing organic compounds and other materials that could affect the mission's science experiments.

In less than 10 minutes, all the gleaming aluminum and beige masking tape disappeared under Esquivias' steady hand. But before the first layer of flat white has a chance to dry, Esquivias made a way back to the second coat – the still-tacky first coat helping make a strong bond between layers. Then the process was repeated at third and final time.

Less than five hours in, the first painting session on the March 2020 rover chassis drew to a close.

Esquivias had been aiming to coat the frame in a blanket of paint between 4 and 6 mils (or thousandths of an inch) thick. But they would not know how to do it because they did so because of the fact that they had to make sure that they were not going to get it wrong. And nobody wants to ruin a good paint job.

Even before Quality Assurance could weigh in, Campanella declared Esquivias' first rover a success. "We paint every day, and when we are not painting we are practicing. He nailed it. "

The next day, Quality Assurance confirmed that Esquivias had nailed it.

Ready to Bake

On August 14th, the March 2020 rover chassis was again carefully sheathed in antistatic wrap and transported "up the hill" to Building 144, where it would be baked in a vacuum chamber.

"Cooking the chassis at 230 ° F (110 ° C) in a vacuum," said Pakbaz. Since March 2020 is an astrobiology mission, ensuring Mars samples have not been contaminated is paramount. Baking the rover goes a long way to making that possible. "

On Monday, August 20th, the rover came out of the oven. After inspection, it was again covered in sterile, antistatic film and returned to the clean room in Building 18 for some final touches and inspections.

The second half of the day, a half-mile to JPL's Spacecraft Assembly High Bay Facility 1, where it took its place next to the cruise and descent stages with the rover safely to Mars.

John Campanella appeared in the gallery overlooking the high bay. With him were Esquivias and Castro.

"When we are in the paint room, it is all about business," said Campanella. "But now that our job is done, I wanted to make sure they took a moment to get to know each other."

"It may not have flames or racing stripes," he added, "but it still looks beautiful."

Mars 2020 will launch from Space Launch Complex at Cape Canaveral Air Force Station in Florida and is expected to reach Mars in February 2021.

The Mars 2020 Project at JPL in Pasadena, California, for the Science Mission Directorate at NASA Headquarters in Washington. NASA's Launch Services Program, based at the Kennedy Space Center in Florida, is responsible for launch management.

For more information about NASA's Mars missions, go to:

https://www.nasa.gov/mars

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Mars, NASA, NASA's Pathfinder Lander, NASA's Cassini Spacecraft, NASA's Jet Propulsion Laboratory, NASA's Juno Spacecraft, NASA's March 2020 Rover, National Aeronautics and Space Administration, Pasadena CA, Red Planet, UV Rays