“General Dynamics’ Innovative Transponders Touch Down on Mars with NASA’s Perseverance Rover”

Following a journey exceeding 7 months through the vast cosmos, NASA’s Mars 2020 Perseverance rover successfully touched down on Mars on February 18, 2021. This advanced rover is engineered to investigate the Red Planet while relaying findings back to scientists on Earth. The rover will commence by analyzing its landing location, Jezero Crater, a sprawling 28-mile-wide crater believed to have previously been submerged in water, searching for possible indications of ancient life and gathering rock and soil samples for future NASA expeditions.

The rover is comparable in size to a vehicle and is equipped with Ingenuity, a helicopter intended to test the inaugural powered, controlled flight on Mars. Perseverance represents the most advanced rover that NASA has ever conceived and includes two microphones to record and transmit sounds from the Red Planet for the very first time. The Mars 2020 initiative is expected to persist for no less than one Martian year, equating to 687 Earth days.

In support of the Mars 2020 mission, General Dynamics Mission Systems has contributed two Compact Deep Space Transponders (SDSTs), our state-of-the-art deep space transponder (illustrated right).

The SDST establishes a vital communication channel directly linking the rover to Earth. This transponder is employed to send the collected rover data via the Deep Space Network at elevated data rates, conveying all data and directives on how to maneuver the rover, alongside information from the rover’s instruments back to NASA. Typically, a message takes between three and 22 minutes to traverse from Mars to Earth, contingent on the planetary orbits.

The SDST has been operational for around two decades, logging over a million hours in outer space across various Mars and other interplanetary missions. Manufactured at our Hayden facility in Scottsdale, Arizona, the SDST is widely recognized as the benchmark radio for deep space missions and measures roughly the size of half a shoebox.

The rover is also outfitted with our X-band solid-state power amplifier (illustrated right). This exceptionally dependable power amplifier, synchronous rectifier, and power conversion unit has been integral to all previous rover missions to the Red Planet and numerous other deep space destinations.

This endeavor will build on the insights and expertise amassed over 45 years of Mars exploration, in which General Dynamics has participated, beginning with our Tracking, Telemetry & Control transponder that facilitated communications for the two Viking missions in 1975, and continuing through all U.S. Mars missions to the present day, including orbiters and landers.

“General Dynamics Mission Systems’ innovations have delivered essential communication channels for every Mars rover and lander, and we are honored to maintain this extraordinary legacy with NASA as we embark on this new quest for knowledge regarding the Red Planet,” remarks Manny Mora, vice president and general manager of Space and Intelligence Systems.

“The focus is on reliable performance,” adds Ann Rusher, vice president of Trusted Space Solutions. “Our team has been facilitating crucial communications between Earth and space with high-reliability space technology since the mid-1950s, and with every triumphant mission, we enhance our standing within the Space community.”