Penumbra

Mission system: STORM

Penumbra was a 102-inch, 5.5-inch-diameter fiberglass vehicle powered by an AeroTech L1150R motor. Four active airbrake flaps adjusted drag during ascent to improve altitude accuracy.

Redundant avionics and an electronically controlled recovery release added fault tolerance to the flight system.

System To Orient Rocket on Mars was a ground-based autonomous system built around three coordinated subsystems.

A robotic arm retrieved and loaded a soil sample, the erection assembly raised the rocket to launch position, and the igniter system completed the launch-preparation sequence.