Bearings On Mars

NASA’s Mars rovers seem to keep on running and running. The Spirit and Opportunity rovers have been making discoveries on the Red Planet since January 2004. Both are driven by 39 DC micromotors from Swiss drive specialist Maxon. Electromate Industrial Sales Ltd. is the company’s Canadian distributor. Together Spirit and Opportunity have driven more than 21 km, climbed mountains, descended into craters and struggled through sand dunes. NASA originally expected these robots to be operational for just three months. The equipment has to be able to withstand dramatic temperatures on the surface of Mars, which can range from around -120C to +25C, as well as vibrations and the special atmosphere.