SENER participates in European Space Agency’s ExoMars program

MADRID, 14-Mar-2016 — /EuropaWire/ — The SENER engineering and technology group is participating in ExoMars, a European Space Agency (ESA) program that includes two missions: ExoMars 2016, which consists of an orbiter and a descent module that will land on Mars, and ExoMars 2018, which will put an exploration rover on the Red Planet’s surface. Exomars 2016 will be launched on March 14 from Baikonur (Kazakhstan).

SENER is providing technology for both missions. On ExoMars 2016 it is in charge of the Surface Platform Structures and Separation Mechanism (SPSSM) and the Front Shield Separation Mechanism (FSSM). The FSSM is responsible for supporting the front shield for the duration of the voyage to Mars and for ejecting it during the module’s descent through the Martian atmosphere following deployment of the parachute. The SPSSM includes the mechanisms that support and eject the back shell during the final part of the parachute descent; the module’s main structure, which holds the avionics and scientific equipment for the whole mission; and a crushable structure that deforms to absorb the final impact of the landing on Mars. SENER also has presence in the scientific payload. The company has performed the Software Product Assurance activities of the NOMAD instrument for the study of Mars’ atmospheric components.

On the ExoMars 2018 mission, SENER is responsible for three of the mechanisms for the Rover’s Drill, enabling drilling of the Martian soil to a depth of two meters, and for the hold down and deployment mechanisms for the vehicle’s solar array.

Further equipment designed and built by SENER includes the Special Check-Out Equipment (SCOE) for the Guidance, Navigation and Control (GNC) subsystem on Schiaparelli, the ExoMars 2016 descent module. SENER is also producing the SCOE for the Attitude and Orbit Control and Guidance, Navigation and Control (AOC-GNC) subsystems for the ExoMars 2018 mission.

Finally, SENER is also supporting the ExoMars 2018 mission by analyzing and checking the GNC subsystem in terms of its performance and assessing the verification of the related requirements.

ExoMars will be the second mission to place SENER technology on Mars, following the company’s contribution to Curiosity, the NASA rover that has been exploring the planet since 2012. SENER supplied the pointing mechanism for the high-gain antenna that enables bi-directional communication between the rover and the mission’s tracking stations on Earth.

With almost 50 years of experience, SENER is a global player in the space sector, providing engineering and production services in five areas of activity: electromechanical components and systems, navigation and attitude control systems (GNC/AOCS), optical systems, microgravity and life support systems, and astronomy. To date, SENER has supplied more than 270 devices and systems for satellites and space vehicles to NASA, the ESA, JAXA, and Roscosmos, all without a single recorded fault.

About SENER
SENER is a private engineering and technology group founded in 1956. It seeks to offer its clients the most advanced technological solutions and enjoys international recognition thanks to its independence and its commitment to innovation and quality. SENER has a workforce of near 6,000 professionals distributed across its offices in Algeria, Argentina, Brazil, South Korea, Chile, China, Colombia, the United Arab Emirates, Spain, the United States, Japan, Mexico, Poland, Portugal and the United Kingdom. The group’s turnover exceeds 1.305 billion Euros (2014 data).

SENER engages in the specific activities of Engineering and Construction. It also has industrial holdings in companies involved in Aeronautics, as well as in the field of Energy and Environment. In the area of Engineering and Construction, SENER has become a world leader in Aerospace, Infrastructures and Transport, Power, Oil & Gas, and Marine.

In 2016, SENER will be celebrating its 60th anniversary with a long track record of projects, international experience and a team comprised of thousands of professionals who are the co-creators of the innovations that have marked its past and will shape its future.

For more information: Oihana Casas. Communication. SENER. Tel (+34) 91 807 73 18 / (+34) 679 31 40 85

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SENER participates in European Space Agency’s ExoMars program