Tag Archives: Trace Gas Orbiter

ExoMars 2016: United they stand

The Trace Gas Orbiter and Schiaparelli are now in their launch configuration. The ExoMars 2016 spacecraft will remain united until 16 October, when the entry, descent and landing demonstrator module will separate from the orbiter to descend to the surface … Continue reading

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ExoMars 2016: Sealing Schiaparelli

The finishing touches are being made to the protective heat shield of Schiaparelli before it is joined to the Trace Gas Orbiter. A team of specialists from Airbus Defence and Space (Aquitaine), who arrived in Baikonur last week, have been … Continue reading

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ExoMars 2016: Schiaparelli lander fueled

The hazardous task of fuelling Schiaparelli, the ExoMars 2016 entry, descent, and landing demonstrator module, has been safely completed at Baikonur. The module now has sufficient fuel on board to power the thrusters it will use while descending through the … Continue reading

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ESA: Trace Gas Orbiter gets a new FREND

The better of two flight models of FREND, the Fine Resolution Epithermal Neutron Detector, has been installed on the Trace Gas Orbiter during the launch preparation activities in Baikonur. The FREND instrument is one of four science instruments carried by … Continue reading

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ExoMars 2016 Trace Gas Orbiter & Schiaparelli lander module arrive at Baikonur

On 14 March, the launch window opens for ExoMars 2016, ESA’s next mission to Mars, composed of the Trace Gas Orbiter and Schiaparelli. Last month, the two spacecraft left Thales Alenia Space in Cannes, France, where they had been for … Continue reading

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HiRISE: Landing site for ExoMars 2016

In March 2016, the European Space Agency in partnership with Roscosmos will launch the ExoMars Trace Gas Orbiter. This orbiter will also carry an Entry, Descent, and Landing Demonstration Module (EDM): a lander designed primarily to demonstrate the capability to … 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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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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