Mars Pathfinder Lander Deployment Mechanisms

The Mars Pathfinder Lander will land, right itself, and open so that none of its airbag covers its solar cells. This requires two different types of mechanisms, the Airbag Retraction Actuators, and the Lander Petal Actuators which are designed for a high torque, low temperature, dirty environment, and limited life application. The development of these actuators investigated low temperature lubrication, Electrical Discharge Machining (EDM) to cut gears, and gear design for limited life use.