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https://youtu.be/ZivtVhDcjzM
ExoMars Trace Gas Orbiter enters Mars orbit
Published on Oct 18, 2016
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Animation visualising the ExoMars 2016 Trace Gas Orbiter (TGO), with its thrusters firing, beginning its entry into Mars orbit on 19 October 2016.
https://youtu.be/H3K5UOUkVj8
Schiaparelli landing – what we should have seen
Published on Oct 20, 2016
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As part of ExoMars 2016 mission, Schiaparelli module should have landed on Mars, but it might have crashed on 19 October 2016. During the descent, Schiaparelli was expected to capture images of the approaching surface. The sequence of the 15 images was simulated from images taken by the CTX context camera on NASA’s Mars Reconnaissance Orbiter.
https://youtu.be/fakP3Ztm1Ro
Schiaparelli crashed on Mars!
Published on Oct 21, 2016
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New images from NASA's Mars Reconnaissance Orbiter show Schiaparelli’s landing site. The bright spot may be Schiaparelli's 12-m diameter parachute and the dark area (15 x 40 metres in size) is likely the result of Schiaparelli’s impact. Estimates are that Schiaparelli dropped from a height of between 2 and 4 kilometres, therefore impacting at a considerable speed, greater than 300 km/h.
Article "Schiaparelli, are you there? The high risks of space robotics again crash home"
by Alex Kirkpatrick
October 20, 2016
https://youtu.be/FM_m55Aph-c
ExoMars Science
Published on Oct 26, 2016
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On Mars there are dust storms, polar ice caps and four distinct seasons. This dynamic world has the largest volcanic mountain in our Solar System and a canyon stretching over 5000 kilometres. Its atmosphere also includes methane, which could result from geological processes or be signatures of current biological activity on the planet. The joint European and Russian ExoMars mission will test key exploration technologies and search for evidence of methane and other rare gases in the Martian atmosphere. This film is a recap of the science aims of the ExoMars 2016 mission, building on the findings of Europe’s Mars Express spacecraft.
https://youtu.be/Zco7Mz2yeJ0
ExoMars sends first images from Mars
Published on Nov 29, 2016
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Images acquired by the Colour and Stereo Surface Imaging System (CaSSIS) onboard the ExoMars Trace Gas Orbiter on 22 November 2016: Arsia Chasmata, 1.4 km-diameter crater near the Mars equator, Stereo reconstruction of terrain in Noctis Labyrinthus.
https://youtu.be/rNOxlcWST0Y
ExoMars - A promising future
Published on Dec 13, 2016
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2016 has been an eventful and promising year for ESA’s ExoMars mission. After successfully placing the Trace Gas Orbiter into Mars’ orbit on 19 October, the orbiter has sent back its first images, tested its instruments and performed in orbit calibration measurements and health checks.
The Schiaparelli lander collected almost all of its expected data before its unexpected crash landing on the Martian surface. Crucial lessons will be learnt from this for the recently approved 2020 ExoMars mission, which will put Europe’s first rover on Mars.
The precise cause of the lander loss is still being investigated but preliminary technical investigations have found that the atmospheric entry and slowing down in the early phases went exactly as planned.
In all, since its launch in March 2016, the ExoMars mission has been a mixture of successes and one unexpected set back. Looking ahead, the Trace Gas Orbiter will start aerobraking in March 2017 to gradually slow down over the following months. By the end of 2017, the orbiter will be in a lower, near circular orbit of 400 kms and ExoMars’ primary science mission can begin.
https://youtu.be/oOcrznm629Q
ExoMars first year in orbit
Published on Dec 16, 2016
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An overview animation of the ExoMars Trace Gas Orbiter’s expected path around Mars between October 2016 and December 2017.
The spacecraft entered orbit on 19 October 2016, on a highly elliptical path that took it between about 250 km and 98 000 km from the planet in about 4.2 days.
The main science mission is intended to take place from a near-circular 400 km orbit, starting in early 2018. The spacecraft will achieve this orbit by aerobraking – using the planet’s atmosphere to slow down gradually.First, on 19 January 2017, the angle of the orbit will be changed to 74? with respect to the equator, so that science observations can cover most of the planet.
Next, to get into an aerobraking orbit, the craft will fire its thrusters in early February to reach 200 x 33 475 km, which will also reduce its orbital period to 24 hours.
Aerobraking is planned to begin on 15 March, with a series of seven manoeuvres – about one every three days – that will steadily lower the craft’s altitude at its point of closest approach, from 200 km to about 114 km. Then the atmosphere will take over, gradually reducing the most distant part of the orbit.
Final manoeuvres are expected at the end of 2017 to circularise the orbit at an altitude of about 400 km, whereupon the science mission can begin.
The animation is based on data available as of end-2016, but the actual timing of the various manoeuvres may be subject to change as operational plans develop during 2017.
https://youtu.be/poZe3UIVA4o
Mars Rover
Published on Jun 22, 2017
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Europe’s first Mars rover will have an unmatched capability to autonomously navigate up to 70 metres a day with no outside guidance from ground control.
https://youtu.be/2syqwJZrmhE
ExoMars is ready for science!
Published on May 15, 2018
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ExoMars is ready for Martian science!
ESA’s Trace Gas Orbiter mission arrived at Mars in October 2016. After a year spent carefully adjusting its position, the spacecraft is now beginning its science operations.
The Trace Gas Orbiter’s instruments will be able to look through the atmosphere to identify trace gases – in particular methane – which could indicate signs of past or even present life. The orbiter will also act as a relay for rovers on the Martian surface.