coated stainless steel samples. The other MoS 2-based bonded film coated sample also exhibited good  overall friction torque behavior compared to the polymeric samples. An additional test was added during the test series to assess whether adding wet lubrication to the  polyamide-imide bushings would improve the friction torque performance of that system throughout the operational temperature range. A set of polyamide-imide bushings was greaseplated with Braycote 601  and assembled in a test pivot to get hard data on the impact of adding the wet lube to the system. The  results indicated there was a distinct benefit above -50°C but at lower temperatures the increased  viscosity of the lubricant negatively impacted the performance of the bushing system by increasing the  friction torque (compared to the unlubricated polyamide-imide samples). Minimizing friction torque in the flight mobility pivots over temperature was desired to ensure the rover’s  suspension system articulates properly while traversing obstacles. Excessive drag in the pivots could significantly impair the mobile performance of the vehicle. This concern led the team to closely consider measured friction torque behavior in the selection of the final flight bushing material. Wear Relative bushing wear performance was also assessed as part of this test series. The nested  configuration of the pivot assembly bushings prevented incremental wear monitoring during testing but thorough inspections were possible after each test. Establishing a valid wear metric to quantify pivot assembly component wear has proven to be difficult.  Some researchers have based wear rates on the volume of material lost during testing but this type of wear scar measurement was thought to be too complex for this application. With this in mind an alternative wear assessment approach was adopted involving photography of wear scars, profilimetry, and SEM microscopy. JPL contracted with the Aerospace Corporation to analyze the worn bushing test samples [4,5]. The  Aerospace Team photographed, provided SEM microscopy images, and performed profilimetry on the samples. A subset of the post test sample photographs taken by the team are shown in Figures 13 & 14. The overall wear performance of the samples was mixed with the bonded film coated samples exhibiting isolated but significant wear and the polymeric samples showing relatively light overall wear. The MoS 2-based bonded film samples with the silicate binder performed most poorly with respect to wear  generating large quantities of wear debris and significant wear scars on the outboard bushing. These wear scars were troubling as the lubricant film was completely worn away leaving metal to metal contact between the corner of the bushing and the contacting parts. Metal transfer occurred in this region as stainless steel particles were detected in the contacting end plate during the Aerospace Corp. analysis of the test samples. Measurable wear of the closeout plate itself was also documented in the analysis.  The MoS 2-based bonded film samples with the “phosphate-like” binder faired better during testing.  Significant wear was limited to a small band on the corner of the coated outboard bushing. Stainless steel  was exposed in that region but produced minimal wear on mating end plate in contrast to the silicate  binder MoS 2 bonded film results. Wear of the polyamide-imide and polyimide samples was very light. The team found that wear analysis of  the polymeric materials was somewhat challenging as they are not coated so manufacturing scars look similar to wear scars.     The results of the wear assessment were in marked contrast to the friction torque results where the  bonded films outperformed the polymerics. This was a troubling development as the team had hoped to  find one superior bushing system that had both good friction torque performance and superior wear behavior. In the end, the team adopted a compromise position selecting the best performer with respect  to friction torque accepting the non-ideal wear performance associated with that bushing system (MoS 2based bonded film with “phosphate-like” binder). 94