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Exxelia, a manufacturer of passive components and sub-systems dedicated to harsh environments, is back on Mars. This time the components hitched a ride on the Perseverance Rover. The company’s film capacitors were onboard NASA’s Insight Probe that landed on Mars on November 26, 2018.

The Perseverance Rover is equipped with seven highly complex measuring and sampling instruments. These tools are acquiring information about Martian geology, atmosphere, environmental conditions, and potential bio signatures. Three of these tools, SuperCam, the Mars Environmental Dynamics Analyzer (MEDA) and PIXL use Exxelia components.

SuperCam is the laser-eye of Perseverance. Its objective is to characterize the rocks present on Martian soil by remote analysis. The instrument can perform remote analyzes thanks to its laser and its spectrometers, without waiting for the samples to return to earth, all with the aim of detecting any traces of primitive life.

The Mars Environmental Dynamics Analyzer, known as MEDA, makes weather measurements including wind speed and direction, temperature and humidity. It also measures the amount and size of dust particles in the Martian atmosphere.

PIXL is an X-ray fluorescence spectrometer that provides fine-scale detection and analysis of chemical elements within the rocks and soil.

Exxelia’s components onboard the Perseverance Rover include:

• Transformers and Inductors : SESI, CMC and MPCI series
• Film capacitors PM94 series
• Tantalum capacitors CTC21 series
• Ohmcraft resistors HVD, HVR and CN series

At the end of a seven-month journey, NASA’s Perseverance Robot landed on Mars on February 18, 2021. The mission’s objective is to search for traces of ancient primitive life on the Red Planet. Data received on Sept. 1 from NASA’s Perseverance Rover indicated it successfully cored a Mars rock. The initial images downlinked after the historic event show an intact sample present in the tube after coring. However, additional images taken after the arm completed sample acquisition were inconclusive due to poor sunlight conditions.