The state corporation Roscosmos announces that scientific equipment, in particular, the FAST Fourier spectrometer, is being tested as part of the ExoMars-2020 project.
ExoMars is a Russian-European project to explore the Red Planet. The mission is being implemented in two stages. In 2016, an apparatus set off for Mars, including the TGO orbiter and the Schiaparelli descent module. The first successfully collects data, and the second crashed during landing.
The actual implementation of the second phase will begin next year. A Russian landing platform with a European robotic rover on board will go to the Red Planet. Both the platform and the rover will be equipped with a complex of scientific instruments.
In particular, the aforementioned FAST Fourier spectrometer will be located on the landing platform. It is designed to study the planet's atmosphere, including the registration of its components, including methane, as well as to monitor temperature and aerosols, and study the mineralogical composition of the surface.
One of the features of this device is a special vibration protection created by Russian specialists. The required high dynamic stability of the FAST Fourier spectrometer will be provided by metal rubber (MR) vibration isolators. This damping material was developed by scientists from Samara University. It has the useful properties of rubber and is extremely resistant to aggressive environments, radiation, high and low temperatures, and intense dynamic loads typical of outer space.
βThe secret of the MP material lies in the special technology of weaving and pressing spiral metal threads of different diameters. Thanks to a successful combination of rare properties, MR vibration isolators are able to neutralize the destructive effect of extreme vibration and shock loads on on-board equipment that accompany the launch of a spacecraft and insertion into orbit, βthe Roscosmos publication says.
Information about the content of methane in the Martian atmosphere will provide an answer to the question of the possibility of the existence of living organisms on this planet.
Source: 3dnews.ru