A robotic arm is being developed to retrieve samples of the surface of Mars under a new deal signed by aerospace technology manufacturer Leonardo and the European Space Agency at the Farnborough Airshow.
The mission aims to land the device, measuring 2.5 metres in length, on the red planet by 2030 and bring samples back to Earth for the first time for examination.
The contract was signed on the second day of the Farnborough International Airshow in Hampshire, UK, the first major post-pandemic gathering of the aerospace and defence sectors.
Leonardo agreed to design, manufacture, integrate and test the device, called the Sample Transfer Arm, for the Mars Sample Return programme, a mission led by Nasa in collaboration with the ESA.
Following a successful study and prototyping phase, Leonardo, at the head of a European consortium, will now take responsibility for the development of the system through to its first operations on Mars.
The technology mimics a human arm with a “shoulder”, “elbow” and “wrist” and has the capacity to perform multiple movements with 7 degrees of freedom. It is fitted with a “brain” and “eyes” to better enable functioning on another planet.
Equipped with limbs, joints and a “hand”, the arm is managed by control electronics. It can pick up samples from the ground and insert them into a container before closing the lid.
Together with its vision system composed of two cameras, the instrument receives information from its sensors and sends to the mechanisms instructions through about 600 signals. This architecture allows the system’s “brain” to autonomously decide the best course of action and co-ordinate movements accordingly.
Challenges related to the harsh Martian environment, such as the copious dust and extreme temperatures (-130°C/+70°C) will be taken into account while designing and building the robotic arm.
Leonardo, which operates in Italy, the UK, the US and Poland, has agreed to schedule deliver of the arm for 2025.
It will then be installed on the Nasa Sample Retrieval Lander and will recover the tubes full of Martian soil that were previously collected by the Mars 2020 rover.
It is hoped the mission will enable scientists to better understand the red planet.
“We are very proud to contribute to the success of the Mars Sample Return mission, an ambitious programme and a major international collaboration,” Gabriele Pieralli, managing director of Leonardo’s electronics division, said.
“This contract reinforces our leadership in space robotics, an important underpinning technology for planetary exploration and in in-orbit-servicing operations.
“This cutting-edge instrument is just one example of Leonardo’s technological excellence in the space domain, which is the reason we are chosen to be on board the major missions to explore the universe, to monitor the health of our planet, and to provide critical navigation and telecommunications services.”
A new relationship with the old country
Treaty of Friendship between the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland and the United Arab Emirates
The United kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland and the United Arab Emirates; Considering that the United Arab Emirates has assumed full responsibility as a sovereign and independent State; Determined that the long-standing and traditional relations of close friendship and cooperation between their peoples shall continue; Desiring to give expression to this intention in the form of a Treaty Friendship; Have agreed as follows:
ARTICLE 1 The relations between the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland and the United Arab Emirates shall be governed by a spirit of close friendship. In recognition of this, the Contracting Parties, conscious of their common interest in the peace and stability of the region, shall: (a) consult together on matters of mutual concern in time of need; (b) settle all their disputes by peaceful means in conformity with the provisions of the Charter of the United Nations.
ARTICLE 2 The Contracting Parties shall encourage education, scientific and cultural cooperation between the two States in accordance with arrangements to be agreed. Such arrangements shall cover among other things: (a) the promotion of mutual understanding of their respective cultures, civilisations and languages, the promotion of contacts among professional bodies, universities and cultural institutions; (c) the encouragement of technical, scientific and cultural exchanges.
ARTICLE 3 The Contracting Parties shall maintain the close relationship already existing between them in the field of trade and commerce. Representatives of the Contracting Parties shall meet from time to time to consider means by which such relations can be further developed and strengthened, including the possibility of concluding treaties or agreements on matters of mutual concern.
ARTICLE 4 This Treaty shall enter into force on today’s date and shall remain in force for a period of ten years. Unless twelve months before the expiry of the said period of ten years either Contracting Party shall have given notice to the other of its intention to terminate the Treaty, this Treaty shall remain in force thereafter until the expiry of twelve months from the date on which notice of such intention is given.
IN WITNESS WHEREOF the undersigned have signed this Treaty.
DONE in duplicate at Dubai the second day of December 1971AD, corresponding to the fifteenth day of Shawwal 1391H, in the English and Arabic languages, both texts being equally authoritative.
Signed
Geoffrey Arthur Sheikh Zayed
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