Tag Archives: ESA

HRSC: Remnants of a mega-flood

Posted on March 2, 2017 by rburnham

ESA’s Mars Express has captured images of one of the largest outflow channel networks on the Red Planet. The Kasei Valles channel system extends around 3000 km from its source region in Echus Chasma – which lies east of the … Continue reading →

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ExoMars: Science checkout continues for orbiter

Posted on February 27, 2017 by rburnham

Next week, the ExoMars orbiter will devote two days to making important calibration measurements at the Red Planet, which are needed for the science phase of the mission that will begin next year. The Trace Gas Orbiter (TGO), a joint … Continue reading →

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ExoMars: Angling up for Mars science

Posted on February 7, 2017 by rburnham

ESA’s latest Mars orbiter has moved itself into a new path on its way to achieving the final orbit for probing the Red Planet. The ExoMars Trace Gas Orbiter arrived last October on a multiyear mission to understand the tiny … Continue reading →

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MEX: Swirling spirals at the north pole of Mars

Posted on February 2, 2017 by rburnham

A new mosaic from ESA’s Mars Express shows off the Red Planet’s north polar ice cap and its distinctive dark spiralling troughs. The mosaic was generated from 32 individual orbit ‘strips’ captured between 2004 and 2010, and covers an area … Continue reading →

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HRSC: Frost build-up near Mars north pole

Posted on January 23, 2017 by rburnham

This animated gif shows the build up of frosts in a 73 x 41 km section of the north polar ice cap of Mars between November and December 2004. The images were taken by the High Resolution Stereo Camera on … Continue reading →

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ExoMars 2016: Skimming an alien atmosphere

Posted on December 16, 2016 by rburnham

After the smooth arrival of ESA’s latest Mars orbiter, mission controllers are now preparing it for the ultimate challenge: dipping into the Red Planet’s atmosphere to reach its final orbit. The ExoMars Trace Gas Orbiter is on a multiyear mission … Continue reading →

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Full go-ahead for building ExoMars 2020

Posted on December 16, 2016 by rburnham

The first ExoMars mission arrived at the Red Planet in October and now the second mission has been confirmed to complete its construction for a 2020 launch. ESA and Thales Alenia Space signed a contract today [Dec 16, 2016] that … Continue reading →

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ExoMars: Trace Gas Orbiter images Phobos

Posted on December 6, 2016 by rburnham

The ExoMars Trace Gas Orbiter has imaged the martian moon Phobos as part of a second set of test science measurements made since it arrived at the Red Planet on 19 October. The Trace Gas Orbiter (TGO), a joint endeavour … Continue reading →

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How Europe plans to land on Mars in 2021

Posted on December 5, 2016 by rburnham

Europe has been trying to land on Mars since 2003, but none of the attempts have gone exactly according to plan. A couple of months ago, the ExoMars Schiaparelli landing demonstrator crashed onto the planet’s surface, losing contact with its … Continue reading →

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HiRISE: Third image of Schiaparelli crash site

Posted on December 1, 2016 by rburnham

This is the third HiRISE image of the crash site of ESA’s Schiaparelli lander demonstration, and the second imaging capturing the lander site plus backshell and parachute in the central color stripe. [More at link]

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