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The Holinser Forceps and Micro End-effectors HK-made space tools get set for Mars
The mission went as planned and the spacecraft's Lander "Beagle2" landed on Mars in December 2003, this sophisticated space tool could be the first Chinese made instrument to touch the soil of a planet outside the Earth. The PolyU-made sampling tool, known as the
Mars Rock Corer, is considered the most important tool to help unlock
the mystery of exobiology on the planet as it will be the first
ever tool to drill into the surface of Mars. The project is the joint effort of a 12 member team led by five Principal Investigators, Dr Ng Tze-chuen, a dentist and a University Fellow of PolyU, Prof.Yung Kai-leung, Dr Chris Wong Ho-ching and Mr Yu Chun-ho of The Industrial Centre of PolyU; and Mr Chan Chiu-cheung, an independent engineer. The Corer was produced by skilled engineering staff using state-of-the-art facilities at the PolyU Industrial Centre. Prof. Yang Chen-ning, Nobel Laureate in Physics, is the Scientific Advisor of the project.
Following their initial success, the team further ventured into interplanetary sampling and developed the multi-functional Mars Rock Corer which can grind, drill, core and grip rock samples, with energy consumption as low as two watts and weighs 370 grams only ?much lighter and energy-efficient than other similar instruments.
The Mars Express Mission comprises a number of essential components including an orbiter and the Beagle 2 Lander ?where the Mars Rock Corer and other scientific instruments are installed. The orbiter will deploy the Lander on the Martian surface and stay in its orbit for sub-surface water search. The Lander will then serve as a relay station for a series of remote sensing experiments to shed new light on the Martian atmosphere and its geology. As a main task of the Mars Express Mission is to search for signs of life in the rocks of the planet, the Mars Rock Corer could therefore become the first instrument to encounter life on a planet outside the Earth. For more information about the Mars Express Mission, the Beagle 2 Lander and the Mars Rock Corer, please visit the website of ESA at www.sci.esa.int, www.beagle2.com, BBC News item and www.hkmars.net. The Holinser Forceps and Micro End-effectors Evolution
of the Concept
The
First Award
Encouraging comments were also received from NASA and the European Space Agency (ESA), while furtherinvestigations have prompted the interest of space agencies around the world, raising the prospect of future application in the Space Lab programme. In 1998 ESA invited the team to participate inthe 2003 Mars Express Mission to produce Micro End-effectors for the "Beagle 2" Lander. If "Beagle 2" successfully lands on Mars in late December 2003 as scheduled it will be the first time in history for Hong Kong designed-and-made instruments to touch the soil of a planet outside the Earth.
This significant development was also welcomed by the HKSAR Chief Executive, The Hon. Tung Chee-hwa, who expressed great interest in the project during his meeting with the researchers in May. On 16th September 2000, the world famous broadcasting company, BBC, sent a film crew to the Industrial Centre to report on the project, and the space equipment in particular.
In December 2001, the project received the Gold Medal award in the Aviation Industry category at the EUREKA International Inventions Expo in Brussels. Our “MARS ROCK CORER - the most critical tool to unlock the mystery of exobiology in our solar system?was among six hundred entries from over fifty countries.
The
Micro End-Effectors for Planetary Geological Sampling
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A
The
development of the Mars Rock Corer and its predecessor the Space
Holinser Forceps has come a long way. The Holinser Forceps, originated
from a pair of dental forceps, were developed by PolyU engineers
from a concept initiated by Dr Ng. The idea was developed into the
Space Forceps System which consists of 70 inter-connectable components
for used by astronauts in Space. In 1995, four sets of Holinser
Forceps were ordered by the Russian Space Agency for use by astronauts
in precision soldering at the then MIR Space Station. 
The
device has cleverly integrated characteristics of Chinese chopsticks
into the design for effective retrieval of samples from inside of
rocks. The device has eventually been accepted by the ESA, leading
to Hong Kong’s involvement in the Mars Express Mission.
The
Space Holinser Forceps evolved out of an R&D collaboration between
the Industrial Centre, a dentist, and a staff member from the Department
of Manufacturing Engineering. In 1994 dentist Dr. T.C. Ng and the
engineers at PolyU developed the typical surgical precision tweezers
design into space equipment for use by astronauts. Such an innovative
idea greatly impressed the space agencies of U.S.A, Russia and Europe.
In
1995 encouraging responses were received, including an order from
P.K.A. (Russia) for four sets of Holinser Forceps for precision
soldering aboard MIR Space Station - and subsequently used on the
space station in December of the same year. 
As
one of the partners of this R&D project, the Industrial Centre
has actively participated in the design and manufacturing of the
end-effectors, using the Centre's advanced manufacturing and testing
facilities, such as CAD/CAM, Laser, EDM, precision machine tools
and CMM.
The
team has the honour of having the Honourable Professor C.N.Yang
(the first Chinese Nobel Prize Winner) to be the project advisor.
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