On the Design of a Planetary Protection Shell for EMC Testing on Space Equipment

This letter addresses on the design of a planetary protection shell for performing the Electro-Magnetic Compatibility (EMC) tests of the Anisotropic Magneto-Resistance (AMR) sensor of the ExoMars mission. This mission has strict bio-burden requirements. The ElectroMagnetic (EM) properties of several materials have been investigated for measuring their transmission coefficients and the novelty of this letter is the use of Fused Deposition Modeling (FDM) technology as the production method. Additive manufacturing is presented as a promising technology in the field of radiofrequency since it can use a wide range of materials (including thermoplastics) with high and low transmission coefficient. The investigation comprises the analysis of the electromagnetic properties of several 3D printer materials in order to study their transmission coefficients. Seeing the EM characterization results, it was decided to produce a shell using FDM technology because it provides control over the grounding of the instrument and makes easier the integration, cleaning and protection against impacts during the operation, with great versatility and low cost. To finish, the shell has been proved during the acceptance EMC tests of the flight model and flight spare AMR instrument.