Coatings Developer Helps NASA Give Explorer a Safe Landing on Mars Surface
LINDEN, NJ - General Magnaplate Corp. has made a name for itself as a producer of advanced coatings designed to provide resistance to corrosion and chemicals or enhance lubricity as a means to reduce wear. The company likes to say that its products have met demanding application requirements "whether in the harsh environments of outer space or on factory floors across the globe."
The Linden, NJ-based company, however, in recent years found itself up against a new and different type of challenge, presented by NASA's Mars Explorer and its Rover landing vehicles. The task facing NASA - and General Magnaplate - was the need to produce a coating that would actually increase friction levels as a means to ensure a safe landing of the Rover on the Mars surface. The increased friction was needed to boost the load-carrying capacity of the device that provided braking when the Mars Explorer Rover, or MER, made its descent to the Mars surface.