Shock isolation on planet Mars

Abstract

In 2016 the ’InSight’ mission will be launched towards planet Mars. Within parts of this mission, sensitive electronics have to be isolated for occurring shocks, as these components are hammered into the Martian soil. A mechanical shock isolation interface - that is based on patented double spiral springs - is integrated into the hammering structure to protect the integrated electronics from the harmful peak accelerations. This paper starts with introducing the theoretical background for the development of such devices and continues with the description and analysis of the actually implemented interface version. Additionally, this paper describes the used mechanism to protect the system during launch. Measurements during the hammering process and the penetration of Mars-like soil prove the effectiveness of the described shock isolation device in real conditions. Finally, this paper highlights the achieved extreme shock reduction performance that reduces the critical accelerations by factor 127 with this novel device.