Trelleborg Offshore’s Eccospheres have been specified by Lockheed Martin for use in the composite aeroshell system on the recently launched Mars Science Laboratory (MSL) Curiosity rover.
Trelleborg Offshore’s Eccospheres have been specified by Lockheed Martin for use in the composite aeroshell system on the recently launched Mars Science Laboratory (MSL) Curiosity rover.
Designed and built by Lockheed Martin Space Systems, the aeroshell is a blunt-nosed cone that encapsulates and protects the Curiosity rover during its deep space cruise to Mars, and from the intense heat and friction that will be generated as the system descends through the Martian atmosphere. The capsule, which was launched by NASA, measures 15 ft/4.5m in diameter, the largest to date, and includes a composite load-carrying structure as well as thermal protection system.
Lockheed Martin provided the aeroshell to NASA’s Jet Propulsion Laboratory, which manages the MSL mission and designed and built the Curiosity rover. MSL has the scientific goals of determining if the planet was ever habitable, characterizing the climate and geology of Mars, and preparing for human exploration.
The aeroshell is composed of a two-part system; the front facing heatshield is a phenolic-impregnated carbon ablator (PICA) designed to take the brunt of the Martian re-entry, while the backshell has a super lightweight ablator (SLA0561V) material containing the Trelleborg Eccospheres as one of the ingredients. The SLA-561V ablator has flown on all of NASA’s previous Mars entry vehicles.
Trelleborg Offshore’s Eccospheres glass microspheres are hollow, thin-walled glass microspheres composed of sodium-depleted borosilicate glass. To the naked eye they resemble a fine, white, free-flowing powder, however magnification reveals them to be near perfect spheres. They are designed to help reduce costs, enhance properties and improve processability.
The glass chemistry and proprietary manufacturing techniques of Trelleborg’s Eccospheres produce a product that is said to feature highly chemically inert sodium-depleted glass and exhibits superior thermal performance with material integrity up to 900°C/1,652°F.