Thomas Zurbuchen, Associate Administrator at NASA, dropped by the headquarters of maxon motor in Sachseln in the canton of Obwalden. The aim of his visit was to get to know one of the most important suppliers for the Mars Mission 2020 a little bit better, further details of which can be found in a LinkedIn post.
As part of this mission, NASA sent a rover to Mars in early 2021. A Mars helicopter was also used on the mission to take aerial photos of the red planet. The aim was to provide insights for future science and discovery trips to Mars. The DC motors used to control the rotors of the Mars helicopter were supplied by maxon motor, while the company also provided the drive systems used in the rover itslef.
During his visit to Sachseln, the LinkedIn post explains that Zurbuchen also viewed the development and production departments, where the precision drives for the Perseverance Rover and the Ingenuity Mars helicopter were manufactured.
maxon motor is a supplier of high-precision drive systems. Its motors are not only used in the aerospace sector, but also for cardiac pumps, humanoid robots, industrial plants, passenger planes, camera lenses and racing cars, among other applications.