Mars 2020 Sampling and Caching Subsystem Environmental Development Testing and Preliminary Results

The Environmental Development Testing program
supported the development test efforts of the Mars 2020
Sampling and Caching Subsystem from May to November 2015.
The engineering prototype Brassboard Corer was attached to a
five degree-of-freedom robotic arm to execute a 96-test matrix
of ambient and low pressure tests in the 10 ft. thermal vacuum
chamber at the NASA Jet Propulsion Laboratory, California
Institute of Technology. The Pretest, Test, and Post Test
procedures are described, and some preliminary results are
discussed. Data and observations from this test campaign
inform the future development of the software and hardware
toward the Mars 2020 flight design, including the next iteration
of the rock coring drill, the Engineering Development Unit
Corer.