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ExoMars: the ultra-clean isolator for rover assembly

Customer: Thales Alenia Space Italia

Customer Challenge:  how to assemble the scientific heart of the Mars rover in an environment completely free of organic substances from Earth, so it can verify with certainty the presence of organic or biological elements on the surface of Mars.

Project Requirements:

• An ultra-clean multi-chamber isolator, 7 meters long, with 4 side by side glove boxes.
• An absolutely sterile environment inside the isolator
• AMC-9 (Airborne Molecular Contamination), the highest class, with less than 1 ppt (part per trillion) inside the isolator

Solution:

Comecer R&D studied, designed and built an isolator with unique components

• Active carbon molecular filtering systems purpose-built for this application
• Particulate filtering systems with low release of molecular contaminants
• Low molecular emission plastics and gloves, treated with thermal processes and selected after experimental studies
• Integrated bio-decontamination systems using the purest hydrogen peroxide solution to achieve 6log decrease in contamination
• Lase-Induced Fluorescent Emission systems for real-time microbiologic monitoring