Tag Archives: Roscosmos

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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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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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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