Among the 13 payloads of Zhurong, Tianwen No. 1, two of them use CIOMP-SIC as the material of the optical system reflector.
They are the Mars high-resolution camera developed by the Changchun Institute of Optics and Mechanics, Chinese Academy of Sciences and the Shanghai Institute of Science and Technology, Chinese Academy of Sciences. Mars surface composition detector.
This is not CIOMP-SIC's first aerospace show. As early as 2015, the 624mm CIOMP-SIC mirror has been successfully applied in China's first commercial remote sensing satellite-"Jilin One". In the following years, CIOMP-SIC has been successfully applied in the "Jilin One" constellation series satellites and a number of space missions, providing key technical support for the improvement of space optical payload performance.
Mirror materials generally use low-expansion glass, beryllium (BE), SIC ceramics, etc., and specific stiffness and thermal stability are the main technical indicators that determine its performance. Currently used materials with low thermal expansion characteristics include Corning's ultra-low expansion glass (ULE), Schott's glass-ceramic (Zerodur), and several materials such as SIC and metallic beryllium. Both ULE and Zerodur are glass materials with very low thermal expansion coefficients, but these materials have low elastic modulus and weak structural strength, which brings many difficulties to the weight reduction and support of the mirror. Beryllium is mainly suitable for optical systems operating in the infrared band under low temperature environments, but the toxicity of beryllium itself makes processing difficult and costly. Due to its excellent mechanical and thermal properties, SIC has overcome the difficulties of optical processing and has become a highly potential space mirror material.
CIOMP-SIC has the characteristics of high specific rigidity, good thermal stability, and excellent optical processing performance. At the same time, using "room temperature lost foam" and gel injection molding technology combined, CIOMP-SIC can realize semi-closed, hollow and other high-rigidity complex structures manufacture. In this way, under the condition of maintaining the structural rigidity of the mirror, designers can optimize the lightweight structure of the mirror to realize the manufacture of ultra-clear mirrors, which brings more space for the improvement of the overall performance of the load.
can only imagine the terrain is pretty tough, and the controlling team must be very cautious to safeguard the little precious jade treasure.
