ExoMars rover dosing station prototype tests
The ExoMars dosing station, a part of the Sample Preparation and Distribution System (SPDS) which is designed to transport Martian soil samples collected by the drill to the instruments inside the ExoMars rover, was tested in conditions simulating Martian gravity during a parabolic flight campaign that ran from 7 to 9 June 2011.
This photo shows members of the experiment team during preparations on the morning of the flight. From left to right: Daniel Redlich, Tor Viscor and Wolfgang Schulte from Kayser-Threde. The rest of the experiment team missing from this photograph: Pietro Baglioni (Principal Coordinator), Anne Pacros, and Boris Bethge from ESA/ESTEC, and Johan De Claville Christiansen and Niels Thoeger Moeller from GOMSpace.
Also visible, on the centre-right of the image, is the camera used to monitor the experiment during the flight; this provides a facility to monitor the dosing, the cleanliness, and the cross-contamination of the different samples.