MSA Article

Much work on the powerplant – a modified 3 litre, diesel engine with 4 x 4 transmission – took place slowly over the past few months. Many components, especially seals, gaskets, clamps and water pipes etc. of the engine were cleaned, inspected, painted and/or replaced. The oil pan was removed, cleaned and painted. A modified oil dump line was fitted and the speedometer cable was removed. The handbrake was dismantled, inspected for wear, tested and replaced. The speedometer cable was removed – it will be replaced with an electronic version.

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Work continues on the chassis modification, which is being strengthened as well as elongated. Before the 3L engine and gearbox is mounted to the chassis, the opportunity to recondition it is being taken (though the engine is in working order). This involves a good deal of hunting for spare parts – some from generic suppliers and some from Toyota dealers. The donor vehicle continues to be stripped of anything useful, including engine mounts, a vacuum reservoir, and electrical parts. The steel carry frame for moving the engine is now finished.

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With clearance from the licensing authorities, work on chassis modification is now under way. Detailed design work in the AutoCad model is now being turned into detailed manufacturing drawings, and these are being distributed to a growing cadre of volunteer mechanics, engineers and materials specialists for realisation into metal and plastic. To better visualize the body shape, a 1/12 scale physical model was built (see photo). Meanwhile, there is plenty of work to do to get the refurbished 3L engine mounted into a steel carry frame and moved over to the Byfield’s factory.

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More detailed design work has been done towards vehicle certifications and manufacturing plans. Most of this work is done by project Engineer, Bruce Armstrong. We hope that by having everything planned in detailed from the start, we will save money by cutting down on labour costs due to uncertainty and mistakes. But a lot of precious time is taken up by the need for all this documentation; we must find ways to spend less time describing things and more time actually building them.

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The Rover chassis was moved from the manager’s carport in Fremantle, WA, where it had been undergoing inspection and rebuilding. During its time there, the concept and design work on the pressurised body shell was substantially reworked. An important development was a wooden mockup which helped verify design ideas and dimensions with respect to ergonomic fitting of the human driver to the controls, a complex but vital design issue for any vehicle. Once this was built and tested, measurements from the mockup were transferred into the AutoCAD design package we’re using for the plans.

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The MARS-OZ research and development project involved the design of a series of subsystems which are to be incorporated into the design of the proposed Mars mission crew habitat simulation module. These systems must facilitate the well being of the crew and provide an environment that supports the safe and efficient performance of tasks. It was the goal of this project to address the identified design deficiencies using an integrated systems approach.
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MSA member Steve Hobbs is a noted photographer and space artist whose work has been used by NASA, the National Geographic Channel, Science Magazine, Design Graphics and The New Sky & Space Magazine.
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Mars Society Australia applauds its new corporate member, the Commonwealth Department of Innovation, Industry, Science and Research.
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The 11th Australian Mars Exploration Conference (AMEC2011) was held in Perth, Western Australia over the weekend of 22nd-24th July. It included a series of talks by internationally renowned Mars researchers including Dr Chris McKay & Dr Carol Stoker (NASA Ames) and Dr Vadim Gushin (Institute of Biomedical Problems, Russia). View the program here. The conference was an overwhelming success and the organisers wish to thank all those who attended and contributed.
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