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Tag Archives: ExoMars 2016
ExoMars poised to start science mission
The ExoMars orbiter will soon begin its search for gases that may be linked to active geological or biological activity on the Red Planet. The Trace Gas Orbiter has reached its final orbit after a year of ‘aerobraking’ that ended … Continue reading
Posted in Reports
Tagged clathrates, ESA, European Space Agency, ExoMars, ExoMars 2016, ground ice, methane, Roscosmos, TGO, Trace Gas Orbiter
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ExoMars: Surfing complete
Slowed by skimming through the very top of the upper atmosphere, ESA’s ExoMars has lowered itself into a planet-hugging orbit and is about ready to begin sniffing the Red Planet for methane. The ExoMars Trace Gas Orbiter arrived at Mars … Continue reading
Posted in Reports
Tagged ESA, European Space Agency, ExoMars, ExoMars 2016, Roscosmos, TGO, Trace Gas Orbiter
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Trace Gas Orbiter: Aerobraking down, down
Spacecraft Operations Engineer Armelle Hubault, working on the ExoMars TGO flight control team, reports: This graphic (above) gives a very concise visualisation of the fantastic progress we’ve made with aerobraking to date. It was coded by my ExoMars TGO colleague … Continue reading
Posted in Reports
Tagged aerobraking, ESA, European Space Agency, ExoMars, ExoMars 2016, TGO, Trace Gas Orbiter
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Keeping up with ExoMars Trace Gas Orbiter
On Friday, 17 November, the flight controllers at ESOC began operations to bring the spacecraft into a new phase of the on-going aerobraking campaign, marking the start of ‘shorter’ orbits. ‘Short’ is considered, somewhat arbitrarily, as when the orbital period … Continue reading
Posted in Reports
Tagged ESA, European Space Agency, ExoMars, ExoMars 2016, Roscosmos, TGO, Trace Gas Orbiter
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Trace Gas Orbiter: Crossing Phobos’ orbit while aerobraking
[Editor’s note: See update.] Here are the facts about the Phobos orbit crossing today [November 16]. The orbit crossing is not a Phobos flyby. In fact, we did our best to ensure that Phobos would be at the farthest possible … Continue reading
Posted in Reports
Tagged aerobraking, ESA, European Space Agency, ExoMars, ExoMars 2016, Phobos, Roscosmos, TGO, Trace Gas Orbiter
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ExoMars aerobraking becomes too severe; shifts automatically to higher orbit
ExoMars has successfully performed a Flux Reduction Manoeuvre (FRM) for the first time. The manoeuvre was triggered by the excessive density of Mars’ atmosphere, which had slowed the spacecraft above the limit the operations team normally allows. The manoeuvre happened … Continue reading
Posted in Reports
Tagged aerobraking, atmosphere, ESA, European Space Agency, ExoMars, ExoMars 2016, Roscosmos, TGO, Trace Gas Orbiter
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ExoMars TGO: Aerobraking restarts in September
After an approximately 11-week pause due to Mars conjunction and a major software update, ESA’s ExoMars Trace Gas Orbiter (TGO) will restart its aerobraking campaign in September. Aerobraking, you’ll recall, is the year-long campaign being conducted by TGO using the … Continue reading
Posted in Reports
Tagged aerobraking, ESA, European Space Agency, ExoMars, ExoMars 2016, Roscosmos, solar conjunction, TGO, Trace Gas Orbiter
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Trace Gas Orbiter: Aerobraking suspended
On 25 June, the Trace Gas Orbiter (TGO) will suspend its aerobraking campaign until the end of August due to Mars’ conjunction with the Sun. With Mars behind the Sun, TGO’s communication with Earth will be difficult, and so the spacecraft orbit … Continue reading
Posted in Reports
Tagged aerobraking, ESA, European Space Agency, ExoMars, ExoMars 2016, Roscosmos, TGO, Trace Gas Orbiter
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Schiaparelli crash investigation finishes
The inquiry into the crash-landing of the ExoMars Schiaparelli module has concluded that conflicting information in the onboard computer caused the descent sequence to end prematurely. The Schiaparelli entry, descent and landing demonstrator module separated from its mothership, the Trace … Continue reading
Posted in Reports
Tagged ESA, European Space Agency, ExoMars, ExoMars 2016, Roscosmos, Schiaparelli lander, TGO, Trace Gas Orbiter
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ExoMars: Q & A on Trace Gas Orbiter aerobraking
Meeting Mario Montagna – ExoMars 2016 Avionics Systems Engineer – Exploration & Science Italy Head of Avionics, Data Systems & Communications Design department. The ExoMars 2016 spacecraft was launched by a Proton rocket on March 14, 2016. About seven months … Continue reading
Posted in Reports
Tagged ESA, European Space Agency, ExoMars, ExoMars 2016, Roscosmos, TGO, Trace Gas Orbiter
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