Tag Archives: ESA

ESA rover tests navigation on Dutch beach

An array of strange, sharp-edged rocks appeared suddenly on a sandy beach near ESA’s technical centre as part of an ambitious test of robotic rover technology. Rovers for Mars and other destinations will operate much too far from Earth for … Continue reading

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Payload chosen for ExoMars 2018 lander & rover

Two European instruments and four European contributions on two Russian instruments have been selected for the Russian-led science platform that will land on Mars as part of the ESA–Roscosmos ExoMars 2018 mission. The first of the two ExoMars mission is … Continue reading

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ExoMars 2016 readied to ship to launch site

The two ExoMars spacecraft of the 2016 mission are being prepared for shipping to the Baikonur Cosmodrome in Kazakhstan ahead of their launch in March. A joint endeavour with Russia’s Roscosmos space agency, ExoMars comprises two missions. The Trace Gas … Continue reading

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ESA: On the rim of Schiaparelli Crater

A 42 km-wide impact crater and numerous smaller craters straddle the northwestern rim of the 460 km-diameter Schiaparelli basin in this image taken by ESA’s Mars Express on 15 July 2010. The large basin is named for Italian astronomer Giovanni … Continue reading

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Mars Express: Witness to a wet early Mars

Vast volumes of water once flooded through this deep chasm on Mars that connects the ‘Grand Canyon’ of the Solar System – Valles Marineris – to the planet’s northern lowlands. The image, taken by ESA’s Mars Express on 16 July, … Continue reading

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ExoMars 2018: Test rover in CNES Mars Yard

Every journey begins with a single step – or in this case a downward trundle. The ‘egress’ of Europe’s ExoMars 2018 rover off its lander will be the second most stressful moment of the mission after Mars landing. So to … Continue reading

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Mars Express: New light on Mars’ UV aurora

ESA’s Mars Express has shed new light on the Red Planet’s rare ultraviolet aurora by combining for the first time remote observations with in situ measurements of electrons hitting the atmosphere. [...] These light displays are also found on other … Continue reading

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ExoMars 2018: Testing rover egress to surface

One small step for a robot: getting a robotic rover off its lander will be the next most nerve-wracking moment for Europe’s 2018 ExoMars mission after landing. This week a simulation stretching between France and the Netherlands will let ESA’s Planetary … Continue reading

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ExoMars 2018 rover heading for Oxia Planum

Oxia Planum has been recommended as the primary candidate for the landing site of the ExoMars 2018 mission.  [HiRISE imaged the Oxia Planum landing site last summer.] ExoMars 2018, comprising a rover and surface platform, is the second of two … Continue reading

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HRSC: Flash floods in Mangala Valles

Catastrophic flooding triggered by ice melting from the heat of volcanic activity is thought to be responsible for the chaotic scenery depicted in this region of the Mangala Valles channel network. The images were taken by the high-resolution stereo camera … Continue reading

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