Beagle 2 Mars Lander at drives exhibition

Manufacturers of some of the world's smallest and cleverest precision motors, maxon motor, are due to make a particularly cosmic impact at the Drives and Controls 2001 Exhibition this March. Visitors to their stand - B15 - will be able to see, close up, the Beagle 2 Mars Lander - the flagship of the European Space Agency (ESA) project. It is this mission, due to launch in 2003, that may be the first to answer the question "Is there life on Mars?" The Drives and Controls 2001 Exhibition and Conference moves to its brand-new £250m exhibition centre in London's Docklands so, no doubt, many of the exhibitors will be looking to do something a little special in order to make an impact this year.

Few, however, will be able to compete with the coup pulled off by maxon motor, and the Beagle 2 is sure to draw the crowds.

maxon is involved in many different aspects of the Mars project.

The solar array deployment (the solar 'wings' that help control the craft) and the robotic arm, which supports the panoramic cameras and other instruments, are all powered by maxon motors.

Most importantly, maxon motor have been chosen to drive the tunnelling 'mole' that will be a vital part of the mission.

It is this that will collect soil and rock samples from below the surface of the Red Planet and that will hopefully provide the answer to one of mankind's great unanswered questions: 'Is there, or has there been, life on a planet other than our own?' Motors supplied by maxon motor must be able to withstand extreme conditions.

They must be able to function in temperatures of up to -100 degrees C on the planet's surface, yet will have to be sterilized before departure at temperatures well above boiling point.

They have been designed using some extraordinary state-of the-art technology, including special lubrication, a new form of low discharge capacitor, vacuum-compatible bearings, special designed low degassing cable and extra reinforced gearboxes.

With a landed mass of less than 30kg, Beagle 2 represents the most ambitious science payload to systems mass ratio ever attempted.

Almost a third of the payload will carry out various types of analysis or be used to manipulate and collect samples for study on the surface of Mars.

This is one of the reasons for the team choosing maxon who make some of the world's most miniscule precision motors; their smallest one weighs a mere 2.8g, is only 6mm in diameter, and yet it turns at up to 100,000 revolutions per minute.

It's no wonder that Lord Sainsbury, the Minister for Science, recently said, "Beagle 2 is a superb demonstration of the skill and creativity of British science and engineering."