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Castrol would like to send its congratulations to NASA on the successful launch of its Mars “Perseverance” rover, which is due to land on the red planet in February 2021. We are extremely proud that two of our high-performance greases, Castrol Brayco and Castrol Braycote, have been chosen by NASA for this mission.

Following a seven-month journey, the plan is for the rover to land at Jezero Crater and work for at least one Mars year… about 687 Earth days. The rover is equipped with precision instruments and will operate in a very extreme environment. It will search for signs of ancient microbial life, characterize the planet’s geology and climate, collect carefully selected rock and sediment samples for possible return to Earth, and pave the way for human exploration beyond the Moon.

When it’s a mission to Mars, you don’t get a second chance. Any technical failures can result in an aborted mission. Castrol Brayco and Braycote greases were chosen because they can provide excellent lubrication for scientific instruments. Besides being able to operate in extreme temperatures, they have been formulated to reduce what is known as “outgassing” (the evaporation of the grease), which will help the instruments to work at optimum levels.

Castrol has greased the mechanisms on NASA space projects since the 1960s. Examples include Apollo 11’s first landing on the Moon in 1969, the “Curiosity” rover’s mission to Mars in 2012, and the “InSight” rover’s mission to Mars in 2018.

With pioneering spirit and innovative technologies, Castrol lubricants keep pushing the boundaries and empowering the development of human science.

Mission Name: Mars 2020
Rover Name: Perseverance
Main Job: The Perseverance rover will seek signs of ancient life and collect rock and soil samples for possible return to Earth
Launched: July 30, 2020
Launch Location: Cape Canaveral Air Force Station, Florida
Landing: Mid-February 2021
Landing Site: Jezero Crater, Mars
Mission Duration: At least one Mars year (about 687 Earth days)

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