USG is on a mission to Mars

USG Corporation is partnering with Honeybee Robotics, a spacecraft technology and robotics company, in an effort to support its Mars exploration program.

What would Mars support look like for a building products company? For one, USG is hosting the field testing of Honeybee's Planetary Deep Drill System at its Plaster City gypsum quarry in Salton Sea, California.

“We are honored to be the only company in our industry to play a role in this innovative endeavor to advance planetary exploration and the broader field of science,” said Dominic Dannessa, senior VP operations and CTO at USG. “We believe innovation comes from inspired thinking inside our company and outside of it, so sharing our geotechnical expertise with Honeybee was a natural fit.”

The Plaster City gypsum quarry is considered ideal for testing due to gypsum’s similarity to cryogenic ice observed on Mars, Enceladus, Europa and other planetary bodies.

Between mid-November and mid-December, Honeybee will drill 100 feet into the quarry -- much further than drills previously deployed to Mars were capable of accessing.

“After two decades of planetary drilling and sampling, we are excited to partner with USG on this new endeavor and begin testing at Plaster City,” said Kris Zacny, director of the Exploration Technology Group at Honeybee Robotics. “USG’s extensive geotechnical knowledge has served as a key asset to us on this deep drilling project.”

Honeybee's Mars program aims to better understand the planet and the capabilities needed to send humans to the planet by the 2030s.