Today, 2^nd March 2021, Rovsing together with Airbus DS Toulouse and ESA conducted a successful delta-Kick Off of the Mars Sample Return (ERO) Earth Return Orbiter (ERO) Electrical Satellite Interface Simulator (E-SIS). The MSR-ERO E-SIS is Rovsing contribution to the core team consortium for the MSR-ERO mission led by Airbus DS in Toulouse. The consortium was awarded back in March 2020 and following a requirement review and schedule re-baselining under an ATP the full contract of the E-SIS was signed late February 2021.

Now that the NASA Perseverance rover landed safely on Mars, with the intent of extracting rock and soil samples and leaving them in sealed tubes on the surface, the road is open for an upcoming Mars Sample Return missions. Retrieving the Perseverance soil sample tubes and returning them safely to Earth is set to be one of the biggest space-scientific feats in the history of spaceflight, bringing us a step closer to answering the question whether our neighbor planet at some time housed organic life.

The validation of the MSR-ERO Capture and Containment Return System (CCRS) is of vital importance for sealing and securing the Martian core samples for their long journey back to planet Earth. The Rovsing delivered E-SIS will simulate the interfaces of the actual spacecraft, enabling engineers and scientists to develop and validate the CCRS system for an upcoming sample return mission. The E-SIS will provide discrete signal simulation, acquire CCRS measurements, provide TM/TC communication with the CCRS, simulate heater supplies and provide considerable power provisions for the sample container sealing processes.

Rovsing COTS products, such as the RO-1010 SLP, RO-1100 SLP and RO-2000 MASC range of products, complimented with the Rovsing EGSE Controller SW Suite, provides our customer with a powerful tool for validating the MSR-ERO CCRS and bringing Martian soil samples one step closer to Earth.

For more information about Rovsing’s Turn-key System Solutions or other products and services, please contact us at info@rovsing.dk or call +45 44 200 800.