WebProNews

Tag: ExoMars

  • ESA Names ExoMars Lander ‘Schiaparelli’

    The European Space Agency (ESA) today announced that the landing module for its 2016 ExoMars mission has been officially named “Schiaparelli.” The name refers to 19th century astronomer Giovanni Schiaparelli.

    Schiaparelli is best known for describing the surface features of the planet Mars. He was also the first astronomer to determine the relationship between comet debris and yearly meteor showers.

    “Considering the importance of Giovanni Schiaparelli’s pioneering observations of Mars, it was an easy decision to give his name to the ExoMars module that is paving the way to the further exploration of the Red Planet,” said Alvaro Giménez, director of Science and Robotic Exploration at ESA.

    The Schiaparelli landing module will be part of the ExoMars mission to Mars in 2016. The lander will test technologies developed for landing a rover on Mars in 2018. Much like NASA’s Mars Science Laboratory, the Schiaparelli module will use parachutes and thrusters to control its decent to the Martian surface. The module will also collect atmospheric and local data from its landing site.

    “Schiaparelli’s dedication to planetary science and to the communication of science was recognised worldwide and, as such, we want to celebrate his achievements by naming a key part of the ExoMars mission after him,” said Rolf de Groot, Coordinator for Robotic Exploration at ESA.

    (Image courtesy ESA/AOES Medialab)

  • ESA Rover Makes Tracks in the Desert

    Last week, the European Space Agency (ESA) detailed a project to test its mission capabilities for the 2018 ExoMars project. ExoMars will be putting yet another rover on the surface of Mars, and the agency this week is testing prototypes of both the rover and some instruments to be used in the mission.

    Today the ESA announced that the Sample Acquisition Field Experiment (SAFER) is close to proceeding, with three prototype scientific instruments already installed on the test rover, which researchers have nicknamed “Bridget.” The rover has also made its first short jaunt across the desert. The test will not only be of the rover’s capabilities, but the mission team’s readiness to perform its functions as well.

    Earlier this week a drone was flown over the test site in Chile’s Atacama desert to simulate satellite imagery on Mars. Panoramic images of the location were also provided to researchers, who used them to plot a route for the rover. Once the instruments were installed on the rover, the mission team uploaded its planned route to the rover and sent it on its way.

    “The next morning, once the instruments were installed, this route was uploaded to the rover,” said Michel van Winnendael, head of the SAFER project for the ESA. “It then began its first exploration, with some debugging and manual interventions needed along the way.

    “Nevertheless, after a long working day that lasted until sunset, the data collected by the instruments were sent back to the control centre.”

    In the coming days, the prototype instruments on the rover will be used to select a sampling site filled with loose soil. The rover will then be loaded with soil by hand for testing. Researchers are using the test to find glitches or other problems that would be impossible to fix once the rover is on Mars.

    (Image courtesy ESA)

  • ESA Mars Rover Being Tested in Chilean Desert

    While NASA’s Mars rover Curiosity has gotten most of the headlines this past year, but a European-led rover mission will be placing another rover on the red planet within the decade. The ExoMars project (which NASA dropped out of due to budget constraints) will launch a rover bound for Mars in 2018 to search for signs of past life on the planet.

    To prepare for the mission, the European Space Agency(ESA) this week tested its mission capabilities in one of the most Mars-like locations on Earth. The agency has taken the ExoMars rover to Chile’s Atacama Desert, a super-dry, rocky landscape that’s soil even resembles the surface of Mars.

    The event will test the rover itself and three scientific instrument prototypes: a stereo 3D imaging camera, a subsurface radar, and an imager. ESA mission specialists will also be tested, treating the event as if the rover were already on Mars. The rover will be sent commands over the course of five days representing two Mars days (“sols).

    “This field trial is about optimizing the use of typical instruments and equipment aboard a Mars rover and generating a set of commands for the rover to execute the following day,” said Michel van Winnendael, head of the Sample Acquisition Field Experiment with a Rover (SAFER) project for the ESA. “Unlike satellites, planetary rovers operate in close interaction with the topography and physical properties of the planetary surface.

    “This implies limited data return from the rover during relatively short communication windows, with an inherent time delay.”

    (Image courtesy ESA)

    Using its prototype instruments, the rover will select a sample site of loose soil. It will then be hand-loaded (by human hands) with material gathered by researchers. The field test, according to the ESA, will be used to uncover any unanticipated situations that could arise in their Mars exploration scenarios.

    “Nature is very inventive in presenting situations which were not fully anticipated by those who conceived the mission,” said van Winnendael. “That’s why we find it important to do field tests in a fairly representative environment.”