Tag Archives: ESA

HRSC: Window to a watery past

Posted on June 8, 2017 by rburnham

This 70 km-wide crater and its surrounds offer a window into the watery past of the Red Planet. The scene, captured by ESA’s Mars Express, is a composite of two images taken in March 2007 and February 2017. It focuses … Continue reading →

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Schiaparelli crash investigation finishes

Posted on May 24, 2017 by rburnham

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 →

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HRSC: Crater triplets

Posted on April 6, 2017 by rburnham

At first glance this scene may seem nothing out of the ordinary, but the large elongated crater marks the imprint of an impacting body that may have broken into three before it hit Mars. The images were acquired by ESA’s … Continue reading →

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ExoMars: Q & A on Trace Gas Orbiter aerobraking

Posted on March 30, 2017 by rburnham

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 →

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ExoMars 2020: To Oxia Planum… or Mawrth Vallis

Posted on March 28, 2017 by rburnham

Two ancient sites on Mars that hosted an abundance of water in the planet’s early history have been recommended as the final candidates for the landing site of the 2020 ExoMars rover and surface science platform: Oxia Planum and Mawrth … Continue reading →

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ExoMars 2020 landing site workshop begins

Posted on March 27, 2017 by rburnham

The 4th ExoMars 2020 Landing Site Selection Workshop will be held on 27 – 28th March 2017 at the European Space Research and Technology Centre (ESTEC), Noordwijk, The Netherlands. The two-day workshop will be run by the ExoMars 2020 Landing … Continue reading →

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ExoMars: TGO aerobraking, ‘So far, so good’

Posted on March 24, 2017 by rburnham

Aerobraking progress as of 22 March: To date, periapsis passage speed reduced by 33 cm/sec Still to go: 99,967 cm/sec There’s news from the ExoMars/TGO mission control team at ESOC following the first ten days of the ‘walk-in’ to aerobraking, … Continue reading →

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ExoMars 2020 landing sites will narrow to two

Posted on March 20, 2017 by rburnham

On Monday 27 March, the 4th ExoMars Landing Site Selection Workshop will take place at the European Space Research and Technology Centre (ESTEC), The Netherlands. At the conclusion of the two-day meeting the Landing Site Selection Working Group will make … Continue reading →

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ExoMars: Aerobraking begins as TGO science checkout ends

Posted on March 16, 2017 by rburnham

The ExoMars Trace Gas Orbiter has completed another set of important science calibration tests before a year of aerobraking gets underway. The mission was launched a year ago this week, and has been orbiting the Red Planet since 19 October. … Continue reading →

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ExoMars: Noctis Labyrinthus stereo pair

Posted on March 15, 2017 by rburnham

ExoMars was launched on a Proton-M rocket from Baikonur, Kazakhstan on 14 March 2016. Around seven months later, it arrived at Mars. As part of preparations for its main science mission to analyse the atmosphere for gases that may be … Continue reading →

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