Why not Carbon for Mars rover?
10-11-18, 11:06 AM
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Why not Carbon for Mars rover?
I know there are some people on this forum that work with carbon in industry and while reading the linked story about the SUV sized rover NASA is preparing for Mars I wondered why did they build it with aluminum and not carbon. Building a payload to be shipped to Mars has to be the most weight sensitive project there is. Any ideas? Solar radiation?
https://arstechnica.com/science/2018...tions-on-mars/
https://arstechnica.com/science/2018...tions-on-mars/
10-11-18, 06:00 PM
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I can think of lots of engineering challenges but really you just need to find a different article to read
NASA Unveils Rover Concept for 2020 Mission to Mars
https://www.compositesworld.com/arti...e-mars-landing
NASA Unveils Rover Concept for 2020 Mission to Mars
https://www.compositesworld.com/arti...e-mars-landing
01-01-19, 05:16 PM
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Drop by Johnson NASA Center in Houston and Ask?
Epoxy matrix can burn,? Carbon is brittle .. . good until its not, then its broken not bent
01-03-19, 11:39 AM
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there is a local company here in Maine that supplied some materials for the rover and as I recall it invented some material that is 'like carbon' but better. ;-)
https://bangordailynews.com/2017/05/...de-composites/
https://bangordailynews.com/2017/05/...de-composites/
01-03-19, 09:22 PM
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Non omnino gravis
My guess would be UV exposure-- and them cosmic rays. No magnetosphere, so the martian surface gets absolutely blasted by radiation. The outer surface of the current rover looks like it has definitely seen some... stuff. Epoxy doesn't much like the sun-- just ask the 15-year-old CF hood on my car. And it spent all 15 years in the Earth's atmosphere, getting washed and waxed regularly.
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01-05-19, 05:29 AM
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Did not read the articles, are they using MMC that is aluminum based? MMC is very cool stuff. In certain types of construction, it reduces grain line stress.
Seems unlikely they would build a space vehicle with epoxy, if tney were building with carbon fibre, most likely it would be a carbon / carbon design where a carbon resin system is utilized.
Seems unlikely they would build a space vehicle with epoxy, if tney were building with carbon fibre, most likely it would be a carbon / carbon design where a carbon resin system is utilized.
01-05-19, 06:19 AM
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I guess carbon itself is pretty fire proof as that is the dust you have left after a fire but all the other materials making up carbon fibre seem quite combustible. Picture of a bike with carbon parts in a house fire here. No prizes for guessing which are the carbon parts.
01-06-19, 04:17 PM
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I guess carbon itself is pretty fire proof as that is the dust you have left after a fire but all the other materials making up carbon fibre seem quite combustible. Picture of a bike with carbon parts in a house fire here. No prizes for guessing which are the carbon parts.
Most epoxies have issues starting at a few hundred degrees. Phenolis, Bismalides, and other systems withstand more heat, but carbon based resin systems are one of the most heat tolerant.
Not freak you out, when a composite part on an aircraft takes a lightning strike, the resin is essentially imediately evaporated out of the carbon fibres. After that it is ugly. Done correctly, LSP or lightning strike protection repairs are critical to the aircrafts longevity.
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