This week, the commands that will govern the Schiaparelli lander’s descent and touchdown on Mars were uploaded to ESA’s ExoMars spacecraft, en route to the Red Planet.
The Trace Gas Orbiter has been carrying the Schiaparelli entry, descent and landing demonstrator since launch on 14 March. Upon arrival on 19 October, Schiaparelli will test the technology needed for Europe’s 2020 rover to land, while its parent craft brakes into an elliptical orbit around Mars.
This week’s uploading was conducted by the Orbiter team working at ESA’s mission control in Darmstadt, Germany, and marked a significant milestone in readiness for arrival.
Schiaparelli’s operations are governed by time-tagged stored commands, ensuring that the lander can conduct its mission even when out of contact with any of the Mars orbiters that will serve as data relays. Automated operation also ensures that the lander will revive from its power-saving sleep periods on the surface in time for communication links. [More at link]