From the Red Planet to the Sunshine State, the latest exhibit at Walt Disney World’s EPCOT transports guests to Mars, showcasing the marks left behind by NASA’s Perseverance rover. Thanks to the combined creativity of Walt Disney Imagineering and NASA’s Perseverance Mars Rover team, guests of the theme park’s “Mission: SPACE” attraction can now see a real-life replica of the Martian terrain. A new display mimics the tread marks left by the Perseverance rover on the surface of the planet.
Disney’s artisans have recreated the surface of Mars using a prototype wheel loaned from NASA’s JPL. Imagineers used a 3D print file provided by the space agency to recreate identical 3D printed sample tubes, similar to those used by Perseverance on Mars. These tubes could provide evidence in the search for life on Mars.
NASA’s Perseverance rover, which landed on Mars in February 2021, uses 11 3D printed metal parts. One example is the PIXL instrument, which analyzes rock surfaces for signs of fossilized microbial life using X-ray beams. These parts were printed by Carpenter Additive. NASA has been increasingly using additive manufacturing for its projects due to its ability to create lightweight and complex parts. This innovation has also influenced collaborating companies like Disney.
