Rocket Lab USA Inc. will supply solar panels to power NASA mobile robots as part of the cooperative autonomous distributed robotic explorers program.
The solar panels will use the Long Beach aerospace company’s inverted metamorphic multi-junction (IMM) solar cells, which are more efficient and lighter weight than standard multi-junction space solar cells and provide the exact capabilities needed for the program, Rocket Lab said in a release.
The solar cells were developed by SolAero Technologies Inc., which was acquired by Rocket Lab in January.
The robotics explorer program is the next generation of NASA’s autonomous pop-up flat folding explorer robot technology. NASA Jet Propulsion Laboratory in La Canada-Flintridge is designing the robots to explore as a group to collect data in the hardest-to-reach places on the moon, Mars and beyond.
New Zealand site.
Brad Clevenger, Rocket Lab’s vice president of space systems, said that the company was proud to support innovative new means of space exploration.
“The (robotic explorers) program could help map unexplored regions on the moon and access hard to reach parts of Mars, expanding our understanding of distant planets and moon,” Clevenger said in a statement.
The robotics explorers are targeted to fly as a technology demonstration on a commercial robotic lander within the next five years through NASA’s commercial lunar payload services initiative, the release said.
The IMM cells were also used to power General Atomics’ GAzelle spacecraft, which Rocket Lab launched on Oct. 7 as part of its 31st Electron rocket mission.
The launch is its eighth of the year, besting the company’s previous record of seven launches in 2020. Rocket Lab has now successfully launched a mission every month since April 2022, delivering frequent access to orbit, the company said in a release.
The mission successfully deployed the General Atomics- Electromagnetic Systems-designed and manufactured GAzelle satellite carrying the Argos-4 Advanced Data Collection (A-DCS) payload, the release said.
Now in orbit, Argos-4 has joined a network of other Argos instruments to collect a variety of data from both stationary and mobile transmitters around the world. This information provides a better understanding of Earth’s physical and biological environment, including its weather and climate, biodiversity and ecosystems, as well as assist with maritime security, offshore pollution, and humanitarian assistance, the release added.
The Argos-4 instrument onboard the GAzelle satellite was provided by France’s National Centre for Space Studies.
