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08/11/2006
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Under contract to NASA’s Jet Propulsion Laboratory, Alliance Spacesystems modified the design of the robotic arm for the Mars ‘98 Polar Lander to adapt it to the Mars Surveyor 2001 spacecraft and its lander mission. Following redesign, Alliance fabricated, assembled and tested the robotic arm prior to its on-time delivery to NASA. The robotic arm has four degrees of freedom (azimuth and elevation at the shoulder joint, and one axis of rotation at the elbow and the wrist). Substantial modifications were made to the robotic arm in order to incorporate the addition of the Mössbauer spectrometer instrument and to enable the arm to place a small, Sojourner-size rover on the Martian surface from the deck of the lander. The arm would then use its scoop to dig a trench up to one meter deep. During digging operations, a small area of soil on the scoop would be examined with a close-up camera mounted nearby on the forearm. Then,
the arm would deposit a soil sample into a chemical analyzer. Designed for
extreme lightness, the arm is 1.9 meters long when extended yet weighs only
3.3 kg.
Performance
Parameter |
Units |
Value |
Degrees of Freedom |
- |
4 |
Mass |
kg |
3.3 |
Length |
m |
1.9 |
Actuator Torques |
Nm |
14-136 |
Range of Motion |
degrees |
up to ±140 |
Actuator Power |
W |
14 max |
Accuracy |
cm |
±1
RSS |
Applications
- Planetary and lunar landers and rovers.
Heritage
- Qualified for Mars Surveyor 2001 mission
Lander Views
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Last Updated ( 08/12/2006 )
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Applications 
