Large Mars Chamber

The Large Mars Chamber is a large,adaptable, environmental simulationchamber suitable for a wide range ofscientific and engineering investigations.This facility is unique in its application tomaterials and processes not usuallyassociated with vacuum chambers.Many studies involve the use of up toseveral kilograms of regolith simulants,as well as large volumes of water,brines and CO₂ ice. The Large MarsChamber is also suitable for testing large instruments and structures (e.g., rover mechanisms) undermartian environmental conditions.

Ongoing research includes simulations of mud-volcanism, surface runoff of both water and brine solutionson sediment slopes, CO₂ sublimation-driven mass wasting on sediment slopes and CO₂ sublimation-drivenaraneiform and dust plume simulations, all under Mars atmospheric conditions.

Description

The Large Mars Chamber is 1.8 m long and 0.9 m in diameter, with 11 large (20 cm diameter), adaptableports used for feedthroughs and viewports. Temperatures inside the chamber can be controlled by meansof a cryogenic sleeve down to -70°C. Lower temperatures (~-180°C) can be maintained using a 1.2 m long, 50 cm wide cryogenic cooling plate. Pressure is automatically controllable, between 0.8 mbar - 1000 mbar.

Specification

The Mars Chambers have:

• Automated temperature control
• Automated pressure control
• UV solar simulator
• High definition video cameras
• Photogrammetric camera array
• High speed video cameras

Contact

For all enquiries please email: Manish Patel