Interplanetary exploration is crucial to ensuring long-term human resilience, from resource diversification to establishing sustainable outposts.
Mars, with its relative accessibility, history of water, and conditions potentially conducive to life, is a prime target.
Over the last few decades, the maxon Group has become synonymous with exploring Mars, with more than 100 maxon motors powering red planet missions.
This began with a collaboration with NASA on the Mars Pathfinder Sojourner Rover, equipped with 11 DC motors, said Dr Carlos Bacigalupo, Head of Engineering at maxon motor Australia.
These semi-customised motors forged the path for maxon’s ongoing involvement in space, evolving into a fully invested development process that has contributed to a significant number of missions
Looking for life on Mars, and beyond
Over the years, technology has advanced alongside maxon’s industry-standard motors, which have been adapted for missions to withstand extreme temperatures, dust storms and cosmic radiation.
“For example, Perseverance, which has 10 maxon brushless motors, landed near the delta in Mars’ Jezero Crater, the end of an ancient river,” Bacigalupo said.
Slowly working its way up the delta, Perseverance packaged soil samples into capsules. “Mars Sample Return will retrieve the packages that Perseverance collected, sometime in the 2030s,” he said.
“With maxon motors in the robotic arm and the sample handling system, we used titanium housing to optimise weight for bringing these samples back, allowing for physical testing of Martian soil on earth.”
Beyond Mars, maxon is involved in NASA’s Dragonfly mission to Saturn’s largest moon, Titan.
Set to launch in 2028, Dragonfly will arrive in 2034 to explore Titan’s dense, methane-rich atmosphere and icy terrain, searching for organic materials and prebiotic chemistry.
The rotorcraft lander aims to understand Titan’s habitability and unlock clues to life’s origins on earth.
Designing for the rigours of space
Interplanetary and space environments are incredibly harsh, requiring components that withstand shock, vibration during launch, extreme temperature swings, radiation, vacuum conditions and pervasive dust, Mihir Joshi, Applications Engineer at maxon, said.
“There are too many things that could potentially go wrong.”
To meet these challenges, maxon carefully selects materials to handle temperature variations and prevent outgassing in vacuum conditions.
Instead of adhesives or plastics, maxon opts for more resilient mechanical connections, such as laser welding between components in motors such as the EC 32 Flat or DCX 10 L SPACE, which also incorporate innovative winding technology, high-performance magnets, and specialised materials that reduce outgassing and enhance durability.
Specialised lubricants are designed to endure the Martian atmosphere and temperature fluctuations, while radiation-hardened materials and built-in redundancy for mission-critical drives further safeguard operations. “That ensures success under these difficult conditions,” Joshi said.
Tried and tested technologies
Harsh conditions combined with limited or no repair capability mean space products must meet and exceed quality standards.
Long-standing collaborations with space agencies such as NASA and the European Space Agency (ESA) have enabled maxon to develop stringent testing procedures.
“We have evolved our standards through constant iteration – new products, new methods – leading to the high standards we have today,” Joshi said.
Components undergo extensive temperature cycling – extreme heat, cold, and humidity in both storage and operation – as well as random vibrations and shocks at varying frequencies.
“We expect vibration and shock during launch, so we have to ensure our motors survive,” Joshi said.
“Maxon also has an ISO-8 cleanroom classification, ensuring we maintain contamination-free workspaces, and adhere to AS 9100 standards – backed by ISO 9001 Quality Management certification.”
Customising for mission-specific needs
Long-standing collaborations and decades of producing space-level products have facilitated the development of maxon’s focused Space Catalogue, which includes data rated to vacuum conditions, giving customers an idea of how motors will perform in space.
“The streamlined catalogue reduces R&D costs to a fraction of what would traditionally be required,” Bacigalupo said.
This expertise extends beyond products to services, via the worldwide “maxon Space Lab”.
“We support students, interns, and seasoned industry experts, offering a dedicated team to guide them through the space engineering process,” Joshi said.
Keeping it local
Since 2007, maxon’s Australian arm has supported the local space industry, from motor selection to subassembly design.
The industry can benefit from prototyping with lower-cost industrial standard products, and later upgrading to the space-qualified products.
“We partner with both startups and established companies, guiding them through design challenges during development,” Joshi said.
“For example, we worked on a plan for a Moon rover for a startup, aiming to collect resources for potential energy generation,” Bacigalupo said.
“We were closely involved in the drive design and went beyond motor selection to demo creation,” he said. Adapting to project needs, particularly for startups, is highly beneficial.
“For a startup, that support is invaluable. This technology test could open the door to further expansion on the Moon.”
To learn more about how maxon’s cutting-edge motor technology is driving the future of space exploration, visit our website or speak with our experts today.