With just over half of the journey to Mars completed, the Schiaparelli entry, descent and landing module has carried out its mid-cruise checkout. DREAMS and DECA have called home to report that they are in good health.
The Schiaparelli module, launched with the ExoMars Trace Gas Orbiter on 14 March, is a demonstrator to test key technologies in preparation for ESA’s contributions to subsequent missions to Mars. On 19 October, the module will enter the Martian atmosphere at an altitude of about 121 km and a speed of 21,000 km/s. Within six minutes it will have decelerated and landed – at a site on Meridiani Planum.
Now, en route to the Red Planet, scientists are taking advantage of the cruise phase to check the status of the payload.
During the mid-cruise checkout of DREAMS that was run on 16 and 17 June, the sensors measured the environmental conditions inside the ExoMars entry descent and landing module, both in the warm compartment where the electronics are housed and in the central area of the module where the sensors are situated. [More at link]