NYE lands on Mars with the PERSEVERANCE rover

On February 18, 2021 the Mars Perseverance Rover made its successful landing on the red planet, and along with it, a barrier film from Nye Lubricants. Nye Lubricants, which was acquired by FUCHS PETROLUB SE in early 2020, has been designing high-quality, synthetic greases and oils for leaders in the space industry for more than 65 years. The Mars Perseverance Rover uses the company’s NyeBar® Barrier Film formulation, which plays a critical role in preventing oil from migrating to the rover’s mast camera and compromising the image. NyeBar® can also be found in the mast camera of the Mars Curiosity Rover which launched in 2011. The Mars Perseverance Rover successful landing was broadcasted live by NASA.

The Perseverance Rover, which launched into its elliptical trip to Mars on July 30, 2020, will be “seeking signs of habitable conditions on Mars in the ancient past” as well as “signs of past microbial life,” according to the NASA website. The Perseverance Rover project was announced in 2012. “Due to the extensive development time required for space projects, it can often be years between when we sell a grease and when it actually launches. It always feels like a great accomplishment when we see these projects come to fruition,” says George Mock, president of Nye Lubricants. Nye Lubricants has several other products used currently on the James Webb Telescope, GOES-R Series and International Space Station. To learn more about Nye’s involvement in this project, click here to visit the website.