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Forum:Satellites - Robotic Probes
Topic:ESA ExoMars 2022 rover, Roscosmos platform
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The mission needs two parachutes – each with its own pilot chute for extraction – to help slow the descent module prior to landing on Mars. Once the atmospheric drag has slowed the descent module from around 21 000 km/h to 1700 km/h, the first parachute will be deployed. Some 20 seconds later, at about 400 km/h, the second parachute will open. Following separation of the parachutes about 1 km above ground the braking engines will kick in to safely deliver a landing platform – with a rover encapsulated inside – onto the surface of Mars for its scientific mission. The entire sequence from atmospheric entry to landing takes just six minutes.

While the deployment sequence of all four parachutes was successfully tested in high altitude drop tests earlier this year, damage to the 15 m-diameter primary parachute and 35 m-diameter secondary parachute canopy was observed. Despite precautionary design adaptations being introduced for a second test of the 35 m parachute, canopy damage occurred again.

A thorough inspection of all the recovered hardware has since been completed, allowing the team to define dedicated design adaptations to both primary and secondary main parachutes. Some promising design changes will also be applied to the parachute bags to ease the lines and canopy exit from the bags, avoiding frictional damage.

ESA has also requested support from NASA to benefit from their hands-on parachute experience. This cooperation gives access to special test equipment at NASA's Jet Propulsion Laboratory that will enable ESA to conduct multiple dynamic extraction tests on the ground in order to validate any foreseen design adaptations prior to the upcoming high altitude drop tests.

The next opportunities for high altitude drop tests are at a range in Oregon, US, January–March. ESA is working to complete the tests of both the 15 m and 35 m parachute prior to the ExoMars project's 'qualification acceptance review', which is planned for the end of April in order to meet the mission launch window (26 July–11 Aug 2020).

The qualified parachute assembly, inside its flight canister, should ideally be integrated into the spacecraft prior to shipment to Baikonur in April, but it is also possible to do so during the spacecraft preparation activities at the launch site in May.

The mission will launch on a Proton rocket, and a carrier module will transport the composite descent module, Kazachok lander platform and Rosalind Franklin rover to Mars, arriving in March 2021. After driving off the surface platform, Rosalind Franklin rover will explore the surface of Mars, seeking out geologically interesting sites to drill below the surface, to determine if life ever existed on our neighbor planet.

The rover is currently undergoing its environmental test campaign at Airbus Toulouse, France. At the same time, the flight carrier module containing the descent module and lander platform is completing its final round of testing at Thales Alenia Space, Cannes, France. The rover will be integrated into the spacecraft in early 2020.

All parachute system qualification activities are managed and conducted by a joint team involving the ESA project (supported by Technical Directorate expertise), TASinI (prime contractor), TASinF (PAS lead), Vorticity (parachute design and test analysis) and Arescosmo (parachute and bags manufacturing).

The ExoMars program is a joint endeavor between ESA and Roscosmos. In addition to the 2020 mission, it also includes the Trace Gas Orbiter (TGO) launched in 2016. The TGO is already both delivering important scientific results of its own and relaying data from NASA's Curiosity Mars rover and InSight lander. It will also relay the data from the ExoMars 2020 mission once it arrives at Mars in March 2021.

Robert PearlmanEuropean Space Agency (ESA) release
ExoMars to take off for the Red Planet in 2022

The European Space Agency (ESA) and the Roscosmos Space Corporation have decided to postpone the launch of the second ExoMars mission to study the Red Planet to 2022.

The joint ESA-Roscosmos project team evaluated all the activities needed for an authorization to launch, in order to analyze the risks and schedule. With due consideration of the recommendations provided by European and Russian Inspectors General, ExoMars experts have concluded that tests necessary to make all components of the spacecraft fit for the Mars adventure need more time to complete.

The primary goal of the mission is to determine if there has ever been life on Mars, and to better understand the history of water on the planet. The ExoMars rover, named Rosalind Franklin, includes a drill to access the sub-surface of Mars as well as a miniature life-search laboratory kept within an ultra-clean zone.

In the frame of a dedicated meeting, ESA and Roscosmos heads Jan Wörner and Dmitry Rogozin agreed that further tests to the spacecraft with the final hardware and software are needed. In addition, the parties had to recognize that the final phase of ExoMars activities are compromised by the general aggravation of the epidemiological situation in European countries.

"We have made a difficult but well-weighed decision to postpone the launch to 2022. It is driven primarily by the need to maximize the robustness of all ExoMars systems as well as force majeure circumstances related to exacerbation of the epidemiological situation in Europe which left our experts practically no possibility to proceed with travels to partner industries. I am confident that the steps that we and our European colleagues are taking to ensure mission success will be justified and will unquestionably bring solely positive results for the mission implementation," said Roscosmos Director General Dmitry Rogozin.

"We want to make ourselves 100% sure of a successful mission. We cannot allow ourselves any margin of error. More verification activities will ensure a safe trip and the best scientific results on Mars," said ESA Director General Jan Wörner.

"I want to thank the teams in industry that have been working around the clock for nearly a year to complete assembly and environmental testing of the whole spacecraft. We are very much satisfied of the work that has gone into making a unique project a reality and we have a solid body of knowledge to complete the remaining work as quickly as possible."

To date, all flight hardware needed for the launch of ExoMars has been integrated in the spacecraft. The Kazachok landing platform is fully equipped with thirteen scientific instruments, and the Rosalind Franklin rover with its nine instruments recently passed final thermal and vacuum tests in France.

The latest ExoMars parachutes dynamic extraction tests have been completed successfully at NASA's Jet Propulsion Laboratory, and the main parachutes are ready for the two final high-altitude drop tests in March in Oregon, US.

The descent module has been undergoing propulsion system qualification in the past month. The ExoMars descent module and landing platform have been undergoing environmental testing in Cannes, France, to confirm the spacecraft is ready to endure the harsh conditions of space on its journey to Mars.

The new schedule foresees a launch between August and October 2022. Celestial mechanics define that only relatively short launch windows (10 days each) every two years exist in which Mars can be reached from Earth.

ExoMars will be the first mission to search for signs of life at depths up to two metres below the martian surface, where biological signatures of life may be uniquely well preserved.

Robert PearlmanEuropean Space Agency (ESA) release
Steady driving towards ExoMars launch

The first simulation of the ExoMars rover driving off its landing platform closed out an incredible year of preparations as the mission now marches with confidence towards a September launch.

ESA's Rosalind Franklin rover starts the year with months of successful maintenance and functional tests behind it. All its instruments are go for flight, with some minor tuning left to complete this month.

"The rover is ready, and together with the recent drop test success for the parachutes, we are positive to be in time for the September launch date," says Pietro Baglioni, ESA's ExoMars rover team leader.

Only once every two years and for about ten days, celestial mechanics allow the spacecraft to reach Mars from Earth efficiently. The journey in 2022 will take around nine months.

Rosalind now sits in an ultra-clean room at the Thales Alenia Space premises in Turin, Italy, right by its travelling companion, the Kazachok landing platform. Following a final review at the end of March, all the components of the spacecraft – rover, descent module, landing platform and carrier – will move to the launch site in Baikonur, Kazakhstan, to prepare for lift-off.

"Just before that last trip on Earth, we will upload the final version of the software that will allow the rover to scout Mars autonomously," explains Pietro.

First martian moves

Following the nerve-wracking descent to the surface of Mars, a long-awaited moment in the ExoMars mission will be when Rosalind leaves the landing platform and drives onto the martian soil for the first time. The egress from Kazachok is a carefully choreographed move that engineers are rehearsing on Earth.

The twin of ESA's Rosalind Franklin rover has successfully left the platform during recent tests in a Mars terrain simulator at the ALTEC premises in Turin.

While the driving during these exercises takes about 15 minutes, the whole process will last a few martian days. After landing, the rover will be busy for over a week unfolding its wheels and deploying the mast, among other checkouts.

"The egress is a long and crucial operation. We need to be gentle and run it in a very slow motion for extra safety," explains Andrea Merlo, ExoMars head of robotics from Thales Alenia Space.

The landing platform has two exit ramps: one at the front and another one at the back. Rosalind is designed to negotiate steep inclines on the ramps, but it is up to ground control on Earth to decide which is the safest way to drive off.

"Once the six wheels hit the martian surface, it will be the beginning of the story for this rover on Mars. We feel ready and are really looking forward to the real mission," says Andrea.

Amalia and Rosalind

The ExoMars twin rover, until now dryly known as the Ground Test Model, has a new name: Amalia. This test model borrows its name from Professor Amalia Ercoli Finzi, a renowned engineer with broad experience in spaceflight dynamics.

Amalia was the first woman to graduate in aeronautical engineering in Italy, and besides serving as a scientific advisor for ESA and NASA, she designed the drill on Rosetta's lander Philae and strongly pushed for the development of the ExoMars drill already 20 years ago.

"I am flattered and honoured to have this essential element of the ExoMars mission named after me. Mars is waiting for us," said Amalia after receiving the news.

Engineers are using the Amalia rover to recreate different scenarios and help them take decisions that will keep Rosalind safe in the challenging environment of Mars. The model is fully representative of what the rover will be able to do on the Red Planet.

Above: The replica ExoMars rover – the Ground Test Model (GTM), also known as Amalia – that will be used in the Rover Operations Control Centre to support mission training and operations has completed its first drive around the Mars Terrain Simulator.

"The fun has started. We will use Amalia to run risky operations, from driving around martian slopes seeking the best path for science operations to drilling and analyzing rocks," explains Andrea.

Amalia has so far demonstrated drilling soil samples down to 1.7 metres and operate all the instruments while sending scientific data to the Rover Operations Control Centre (ROCC), the operational hub that will orchestrate the roaming of the European-built rover on Mars.

It takes a team

The effort to arrive at the starting line in time has been extraordinary, with double shifts and no time for breaks in 2021 amidst COVID -19 pandemic disruptions.

"The cooperation between European and Russian industry, the coordination between space agencies and the work of the technical teams have been remarkable," praises Pietro.

Above: The ExoMars Rosalind Franklin rover is seen here sitting on top of the Kazachok surface science platform in stowed configuration, rather similar to how it will journey to Mars in 2022.

Teams have solved critical issues working in parallel, such as the parachute system and the descent module electronics, with enough margin for a launch in September 2022. Preparations for launch have started in Baikonur, and a dedicated support team is in place at ESOC centre in Darmstadt, Germany.

The ESA-Roscosmos Trace Gas Orbiter is waiting for the arrival of ExoMars to the Red Planet. In addition to its own science mission, the orbiter relays data from NASA's Perseverance rover. Also on the martian surface since 2021 is China's Zhurong rover.

"It's not long to go before the European rover can finally join the other martian drivers in 2023 with a top class scientific laboratory on board," says Pietro.

Robert PearlmanEuropean Space Agency (ESA) release
ExoMars suspended

As an intergovernmental organisation mandated to develop and implement space programmes in full respect with European values, we deeply deplore the human casualties and tragic consequences of the aggression towards Ukraine. While recognising the impact on scientific exploration of space, ESA is fully aligned with the sanctions imposed on Russia by its Member States.

ExoMars

ESA’s ruling Council, meeting in Paris on 16-17 March, assessed the situation arising from the war in Ukraine regarding ExoMars, and unanimously:

  • acknowledged the present impossibility of carrying out the ongoing cooperation with Roscosmos on the ExoMars rover mission with a launch in 2022, and mandated the ESA Director General to take appropriate steps to suspend the cooperation activities accordingly;

  • authorised the ESA Director General to carry out a fast-track industrial study to better define the available options for a way forward to implement the ExoMars rover mission.

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