Dr. Stephanie Buck
Jet Propulsion Laboratory

Subject:

"Composite Materials and the Mars Rover Mission"

Abstract:

JPL's flight missions are developed as balances of science desires and engineering realities. Meeting the mass constraint has often driven hardware engineers to use composite materials, and composite use on the Mars Exploration Rover mission was extensive.

This presentation will cover the hows and whys of many of the composite applications, challenges that were encountered, and the solutions that helped enable a new chapter in the exploration of Mars.


 

Presenter's Background:

Stephanie Buck received her B.S. in Engineering and Applied Science from Caltech and her M.S. in Engineering Science from Dartmouth College, where she studied the fracture mechanics of ice.

She received her Ph.D. in Materials Science from the University of California, San Diego, where she studied the environmental durability and failure behavior of composites used for civil structures.

She joined JPL in 2000 and has been involved with materials and processes development and applications on missions including Mars Exploration Rovers, Deep Impact, Mars Reconnaissance Orbiter, and the Space Interferometry Mission.

She also teaches an adhesive bonding class for certification of flight technicians for work on flight programs.