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The AFRL Materials and Manufacturing Directorate Erosion Team conducted a series of coatings durability tests for NASA’s Mars 2020 rover, pictured here in an artist’s rendition.
Air Force Research Laboratory researchers are doing their part to make the next Mars rover mission an astronomical success.
At the request of NASA’s Jet Propulsion Laboratory and project partners, AFRL recently concluded a series of tests in the Particle Erosion Test Facility, located in the Materials and Manufacturing Directorate’s Coatings, Corrosion, and Erosion Laboratory. For this effort, AFRL experts evaluated the effects of dust, particulates, and small rocks on the protective surface coatings of the Mars 2020 rover vehicle.