Deployment & Positioning
Deployable Dust Cover
Product Features
The Deployable Dust Cover was developed for integration with the University of Arizona’s Thermal and Evolved Gas Analyzer (TEGA), a combination high-temperature furnace and mass spectrometer which will be onboard the Phoenix Mars Lander Mission (scheduled for launch in 2007). The flight-ready engineering model of the Deployable Dust Cover has been built, tested, and delivered to the client and is awaiting final approval before assembly of the flight model.
Honeybee’s design incorporates with the TEGA, a deployable, four-sided, surface-to-surface cover capable of operating in a dusty, Martian environment. During launch, flight and landing the cover creates a seal to protect the TEGA from all airborn or particulate matter which may damage or affect the results of the TEGA's experiments. When deployed, the cover clears all particulate matter from the surface of the instrument without chafing or creating any Hydrocarbon particulate. The seal is made via magnetic adhesion from magnetic rails mounted to the top of the TEGA and a ferrous rail frame with a stainless-steel foil film captured between them. The foil is spooled onto drums at the bottom of each face by a ratcheting mechanism which allows the drum to advance in 20 degree increments and the actuator to cool between advances. This is all accomplished within limited mass and power consumption requirements.