Incap Corporation: Incap produced electronics for NASA's lunar mission cameras

Incap Corporation Press Release 24 March 2021 at 2.15 p.m. EET   

                   
Incap Corporation, headquartered in Helsinki, Finland, has produced PCBs for stereo cameras that will be used in the Moon in connection with NASA's Artemis lunar program. The cameras have been developed by an Estonian company Crystalspace. 

The cameras with Incap electronics will act as a stereo pair to monitor the operations of a robotic arm that will collect regolith samples from the Moon. "It was a very exciting project for our team. Knowing that the electronics produced by Incap will one day be on the Moon is uplifting for everyone in our team. We are honored to be a part of such a historic project,” said Otto Pukk, CEO and President of Incap Corporation. 

Incap produced three different circuit boards for the cameras. "Although it was a very small order,  it was still a very significant project for us and we are honored to have been able to extend our competence to this mission,” said Pukk. "Incap has produced electronics for space technology before, but this is the first project with Incap’s electronics going to the Moon,” explained Pukk. 

"We produced the electronics based on Crystalspace´s specifications, however the production process did not differ much from the company's usual process. We produce everything according to the highest standards. For example, we also produce electronics for medical devices, which must meet very high quality requirements and special documentation requirements, so the process itself was quite standard for us,” explained Pukk. 

The cameras built for the lunar mission will need to withstand extreme conditions. During take-off and the entire mission, the cameras will be subjected to extreme conditions and temperatures from -173 to +100 degrees Celsius that occur on the Moon. "The cameras were thoroughly tested to make sure that they can withstand these conditions,” explained Pukk. 

The cameras were developed by Estonian companies Crystalspace and Krakul and Tartu Observatory. "We had a tight schedule, and we needed partners that we could count on for being able to meet the deadlines. Incap was a natural choice for us, as we have done many projects successfully with them before," commented Jaan Hendrik Murumets, CEO of Krakul, Estonia's leading IoT and autonomous systems development company. 

Crystalspace delivered system integration as well as the design and optics of the camera in cooperation with Tartu Observatory. Krakul designed the electronics and embedded software for the stereo cameras and Incap Electronics Estonia produced the electronics. 

The Crystalspace cameras will be part of Maxar Technologies' robotic arm called Sample Acquisition, Morphology Filtering, and Probing of Lunar Regolith (SAMPLR). Maxar’s SAMPLR robotic arm will be the first United States-provided robotic arm operated on the surface of Earth’s Moon since the Surveyor missions more than 50 years ago. SAMPLR is one of 12 externally developed payloads that NASA selected as part of its Artemis lunar program to send the first woman and the next man to the Moon by 2024 in preparation for a human mission to Mars. 

Photos: https://photos.app.goo.gl/6RqEsKamE2B2HzZu5 

INCAP CORPORATION

For additional information, please contact:
Otto Pukk, President and CEO, tel. +372 508 0798

INCAP IN BRIEF
Incap Corporation is a trusted partner and full-service provider in Electronics Manufacturing Services. As a global EMS company, Incap supports customers ranging from large multinationals and mid-sized companies to small start-ups in their complete manufacturing value chain. Incap offers state-of-the-art technology backed up by an entrepreneurial culture and highly qualified personnel. The company has operations in Finland, Estonia, India, Slovakia, the UK, and Hong Kong and employs approximately 1,300 people. Incap’s share has been listed on Nasdaq Helsinki Ltd stock exchange since 1997.

CRYSTALSPACE IN BRIEF
Crystalspace was founded by two of the core developers of the Estonian University of Tartu ESTCube-1 CubeSat mission. Crystalspace specializes in the rapid designing and production of nanosatellite parts. The people behind Crystalspace have been involved in developing payloads for multiple satellites, like ESTCube-1, Aalto-1, and ESEO. CrystalSpace was part of the European Space Agency Business Incubator (ESA BIC Estonia) 2017-2019. https://crystalspace.eu/ 

KRAKUL IN BRIEF
Krakul is Estonia's leading IoT and autonomous systems development company – from idea to product to manufacturing. Founded on a principle of approaching product development from a more human-centric angle, Krakul operates as a long-term, versatile design partner, working with teams of any size from corporations to SMEs to startups. After completing over 100+ projects, the team has had a global influence, with projects in the Baltics, the USA, Sweden, Mexico, Vietnam, Spain, and many other countries.

MAXAR IN BRIEF
Maxar is a trusted partner and innovator in Earth Intelligence and Space Infrastructure. We deliver disruptive value to government and commercial customers to help them monitor, understand and navigate our changing planet; deliver global broadband communications; and explore and advance the use of space. Our unique approach combines decades of deep mission understanding and a proven commercial and defense foundation to deploy solutions and deliver insights with unrivaled speed, scale and cost effectiveness. Maxar’s 4,000 team members in 20 global locations are inspired to harness the potential of space to help our customers create a better world. Maxar trades on the New York Stock Exchange and Toronto Stock Exchange as MAXR. For more information, visit www.maxar.com.