Tag Archives: ESA

ExoMars imaged in flight by asteroid hunters

Posted on March 18, 2016 by rburnham

On 14 March, the ExoMars Trace Gas Orbiter and Schiaparelli lander were lofted into orbit by a Proton rocket from Baikonur in Kazakhstan, starting a seven-month journey to the Red Planet. Following separation from the final stage at 20:13 GMT … Continue reading →

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ExoMars 2016: On its way

Posted on March 14, 2016 by rburnham

The first of two joint ESA-Roscosmos missions to Mars has begun a seven-month journey to the Red Planet, where it will address unsolved mysteries of the planet’s atmosphere that could indicate present-day geological – or even biological – activity. The … Continue reading →

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ExoMars 2016: First post-launch signal later today

Posted on March 14, 2016 by rburnham

ExoMars 2016 lifted off on a Proton-M rocket from Baikonur, Kazakhstan at 09:31 GMT on 14 March 2016. Regular text updates here. Updates on Twitter: @ESA_ExoMars @esaoperations @esascience Update: “Two NASA radios aboard the European Space Agency’s Mars mission that … Continue reading →

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ExoMars 2016: On the launch pad

Posted on March 11, 2016 by rburnham

Update: Video of rocket rollout here. Preparations at Baikonur are continuing for the launch, scheduled for 09:31 UTC (05:31 US EDT) on Monday 14 March. This morning, the roll out to the launch pad was completed with the launcher being … Continue reading →

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Follow ExoMars 2016′s launch online March 14

Posted on March 10, 2016 by rburnham

ExoMars 2016 is scheduled for launch on Monday, 14 March, at 09:31 UTC (05:31 US EDT), with first acquisition of signal expected at around 21:29 UTC (17:29 US EDT). Follow the launch live through any of the following channels. Livestream … Continue reading →

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ExoMars 2016: Spacecraft meets Proton rocket

Posted on March 8, 2016 by rburnham

On Saturday 5 March, the ExoMars Trace Gas Orbiter and the entry, descent and landing demonstrator module, known as Schiaparelli, which have been integrated with the Breeze-M upper stage, were transported by train to the area of the Baikonur cosmosdrome … Continue reading →

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MEX: Mars Visual Monitoring Camera back online

Posted on March 4, 2016 by rburnham

From the Mars Express Mars Webcam blog: Today’s post sent in by Mars Express Spacecraft Operations Engineer Simon Wood, at ESOC. The news? Ten observations slots in the next four weeks, starting today! You may have noticed that VMC has … Continue reading →

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ExoMars 2016: Shrouding the spacecraft for launch

Posted on March 3, 2016 by rburnham

With less than two weeks until the launch of ExoMars 2016, preparations are proceeding well and the spacecraft composite has now been encapsulated within the launcher fairing at the Baikonur cosmodrome in Kazakhstan. Earlier this week the spacecraft composite, comprised … Continue reading →

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ExoMars 2016: Spacecraft mated to upper stage

Posted on March 2, 2016 by rburnham

The ExoMars 2016 spacecraft composite, comprised of the Trace Gas Orbiter and Schiaparelli, has been mated with the Breeze upper stage of the Proton rocket. On Monday, 29 February, the spacecraft composite was installed on top of the Breeze, after … Continue reading →

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HRSC: Aeolis Mensae

Posted on February 29, 2016 by rburnham

A powerful combination of tectonic activity and strong winds have joined forces to shape the scenery in this region of Mars. The image was taken by ESA’s Mars Express on 7 July 2015 and covers part of the Aeolis Mensae … Continue reading →

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