• Skip to primary navigation
  • Skip to main content
  • Skip to primary sidebar
  • Skip to footer

Motion Control Tips

Automation • Motion Control • Power Transmission

  • News
    • Industry News
    • Editor Blogs
    • Video
  • Controls
    • HMIs
    • PC-Based Controllers
    • PLCs + PACs
    • Stand-Alone Controllers
    • Software
  • Drives
    • Servo Drives
    • Stepper Drives
  • Encoders
    • Absolute Encoders
    • Incremental Encoders
    • Rotary Encoders
  • Mechanical
    • Bearings
    • Brakes + Clutches
    • Belt + chain
    • Couplings
    • Gears + Gearing
    • Lubrication
    • Shock + Vibration Mitigation
    • Springs + Rings + Seals
  • Linear
    • Actuators
    • Linear Motors
    • Linear Encoders
  • Motors
    • AC Motors
    • DC Motors
    • Brushless Motors
    • Gearmotors
    • Piezo Motors
    • Servo Motors
    • Stepper Motors
  • Systems
    • Conveyors + linear transport systems
    • Gantries + Stages
    • Rotary Tables
    • Grippers + End Effectors
    • Robotics
  • Networks
    • Connections + Sliprings
    • Fieldbuses
    • I/O
    • Sensors + Vision
  • FAQs
    • Motion Casebook
    • Motion Selection Guides
  • Suppliers
You are here: Home / Motors / Mars helicopter makes history with maxon’s precision motors

Mars helicopter makes history with maxon’s precision motors

April 21, 2021 By Kelsey Zebrowski Leave a Comment

NASA’s Ingenuity helicopter has successfully completed its pioneering flight on Mars. This is the first time in the history of powered, unmanned spaceflight that a device has flown in a controlled manner on another planet.

A short flight for “Ingenuity” but a big success for unmanned space flight. NASA’s Mars helicopter flew over the surface of the Red Planet for about 40 seconds on Monday, April 19th and landed back on four legs. From NASA’s perspective, this is a historic event similar to the Wright brothers’ first controlled flight in 1903.

With the Mars helicopter, the concept of powered, unmanned, and autonomous flights on foreign planets is being tested. This is comparable to the first Mars rover “Sojourner”, which paved the way for scientific follow-up missions such as “Curiosity” and currently “Perseverance”. “Ingenuity” is about to complete several flights over a period of 30 days, each lasting up to 90 seconds and reaching a maximum altitude of five meters.

Six micromotors control the helicopter’s flight direction
The flight is also a great success for maxon. The helicopter is equipped with six brushed DC motors, which have been specifically modified for this challenge. The DCX series of drives, with diameters of ten millimeters, control the pitch of the rotor blades and the direction of flight for the helicopter, which weighs only 1.8 kilograms and is solar-powered. The lightweight design is a prerequisite for a successful flight on the Red Planet, where there is hardly any atmosphere, comparable to conditions at an altitude of 30 kilometers on Earth. “The biggest challenge in developing the motors was the extreme weight requirement,” says Aiko Stenzel, design engineer at maxon.

“Every tenth of a gram had to be saved to make the helicopter fly. What’s great is that despite the weight savings, we found a drive solution that has enough power to adjust the rotor blades. And this in the face of high vibrations and temperature fluctuations.” The standard variants of the DCX motors are available for everyone and can be configured online according to the individual customer specifications at shop.maxongroup.us.

Eugen Elmiger, CEO of the maxon Group, watched the NASA transmission of the first flight data live and is thrilled: “It is a fantastic feeling to know that our precision drives worked as planned and that we were able to make our contribution to this historic event. I am proud of our employees and look forward to the next milestones on Mars.”

maxon’s drives are also used in the Perseverance rover. There are ten BLDC motors and a special gearbox that will be used, among other things, to handle the soil samples inside the rover. The first of these motors has already successfully completed its task: It placed the Mars helicopter safely on the ground two weeks ago.

For more information, visit mars.maxonworld.com.

You may also like:

  • maxon precision motors
    Swiss precision motors handle valuable Mars soil samples
  • servo motor
    New integrated servo motors from Maxon feature IP65 protection

  • Miniature gearing and planetary gearing in haptic feedback

  • maxon, ANYbotics enter into strategic partnership for robotic drive systems
  • NASA rover
    NASA’s Perseverance rover heading to Mars with maxon drives aboard

Filed Under: Motors Tagged With: maxon

Reader Interactions

Leave a Reply

You must be logged in to post a comment.

Primary Sidebar

POWER TRANSMISSION REFERENCE GUIDE

DESIGN GUIDE LIBRARY

“motion
Subscribe Today

RSS Featured White Papers

  • Specifying electric rodless actuators: Ten tips for maximizing actuator life and system performance
  • The truth about actuator life: Screw drive survival
  • Top Ten Tips: How to specify electric rod-style actuators for optimal performance, reliability and efficiency

Footer

Motion Control Tips

DESIGN WORLD NETWORK

Design World Online
The Robot Report
Coupling Tips
Linear Motion Tips
Bearing Tips
Fastener Engineering.

MOTION CONTROL TIPS

Subscribe to our newsletter
Advertise with us
Contact us
About us
Follow us on TwitterAdd us on FacebookAdd us on LinkedInAdd us on YouTubeAdd us on Instagram

Copyright © 2022 · WTWH Media LLC and its licensors. All rights reserved.
The material on this site may not be reproduced, distributed, transmitted, cached or otherwise used, except with the prior written permission of WTWH Media.

Privacy Policy | RSS