Charging Assessment for Sample Tube Exchange between Perseverance and MSR SRL

This paper describes the study of mitigation methods for risks of electrostatic discharges between the Sample Retrieval Lander (SRL) and NASA’s Mars 2020 Perseverance Rover on Mars’ surface, two spacecraft that play key roles in the planned Mars Sample Return (MSR) Campaign. Tubes containing Martian material would either be retrieved from the ground after being deposited by Sample Retrieval Helicopter (SRH), or pulled from the bit carousel on Perseverance Rover. The Sample Transfer Arm (STA) would retrieve the sample tubes and install them into the Orbital Sample (OS) container that is located at the front of the Mars Ascent Vehicle (MAV). We want to prevent detrimental discharges when the STA of the SRL grasps a sample tube carried by Perseverance.