posted 05-02-2016 08:02 AM               

Second ExoMars Mission Moves to Next Launch Opportunity in 2020

On 14 March 2016, the Roscosmos State Corporation and the European Space Agency (ESA) launched the jointly-developed ExoMars 2016 interplanetary mission, comprising the Trace Gas Orbiter (TGO) and the Schiaparelli lander, on a Proton rocket from Baikonur, thus marking the first phase in the European-Russian ExoMars cooperation programme. The success achieved by Russian and European experts involved in ExoMars 2016 is the result of long and fruitful cooperation. The ExoMars 2016 spacecraft are due to arrive at Mars in October 2016.

The second ExoMars mission involves a Russian-led surface platform and a European-led rover, also to be launched on a Proton from Baikonur. Russian and European experts made their best efforts to meet the 2018 launch schedule for the mission, and in late 2015, a dedicated ESA-Roscosmos Tiger Team, also including Russian and European industries, initiated an analysis of all possible solutions to recover schedule delays and accommodate schedule contingencies.

The Tiger Team presented its final report during a meeting of the Joint ExoMars Steering Board (JESB) held in Moscow. Having assessed the possible ways to ensure successful mission implementation, the JESB concluded that, taking into account the delays in European and Russian industrial activities and deliveries of the scientific payload, a launch in 2020 would be the best solution.

ESA Director General Johann-Dietrich Woerner and Roscosmos Director General Igor Komarov discussed the ExoMars 2018 situation. After considering the Tiger Team report and the JESB recommendations, they jointly decided to move the launch to the next available Mars launch window in July 2020, and tasked their project teams to develop, in cooperation with the industrial contractors, a new baseline schedule aiming towards a 2020 launch. Additional measures will also be taken to maintain close control over the activities on both sides up to launch.

The successful implementation of both ExoMars missions will allow Russia and Europe to jointly validate cutting-edge technologies for Mars entry, descent, and landing, for the control of surface assets, to develop new engineering concepts and service systems that can be used by other Solar System exploration missions, and to carry out novel science at Mars.

Both Directors General have reiterated their resolve to implement ExoMars program successfully and step up Russian-European cooperation in Solar System exploration.

posted 03-20-2017 10:21 AM               

ExoMars landing sites to narrow to final two

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 their recommendation for which two landing sites should continue to be studied for the ExoMars 2020 mission.

The ExoMars rover and surface platform will launch in 2020. The primary objective is to land at a site with high potential for finding well-preserved organic material, particularly from the very early history of the planet.

Above: ExoMars 2020 rover and surface platform.

While the surface platform will remain stationary at the landing site, the rover is expected to travel several kilometers during its time on Mars, and to drill down to two meters below the surface to collect samples for analysis in the rover's onboard laboratory. Underground samples are more likely to include possible chemical biosignatures in a good state of conservation, since the tenuous martian atmosphere offers little protection from radiation to complex molecules at the surface.

At the previous landing site selection workshop, which took place in October 2015, the Landing Site Selection Working Group (LSSWG) chose three landing sites for detailed study. At the time, the ExoMars rover was scheduled for launch in 2018 and Oxia Planum was identified as the primary choice.

Oxia Planum is a low-lying area that contains significant clay-bearing rocks. This indicates that water was once abundant here.

A further recommendation was made to also consider Oxia Planum as one of the two candidate landing sites for the backup launch opportunity in 2020, with a second to be selected from Aram Dorsum and Mawrth Vallis after due consideration.

Aram Dorsum is a flat region near the martian equator that includes the remains of a meandering channel and its surrounding flood plains. Mawrth Vallis contains many fine-layered, clay-rich sedimentary deposits that signal the presence of much water.

Now that launch is scheduled for 2020, the LSSWG must come together again and narrow this choice to just two sites.

Above: Potential landing sites for ExoMars 2020. Oxia Planum (indicated in green) was identified, at the 3rd Landing Site Selection Workshop, as one of the two candidate landing sites, with a second to be chosen between Aram Dorsum and Mawrth Vallis (both indicated in blue).

Each landing site team will present the results of their investigations. They will highlight the expected scientific diversity of the site, the accessibility of the interesting geological landforms, the driving conditions for the rover, and provide an example of a mission that could be conducted while traversing 3 kilometers on the surface.

On the second day of the workshop, the participants will vote on the relative merits of the three sites. The results will be taken into account but the final decision of which two sites to take forward will rest solely with the LSSWG. Their recommendations and reasons will be presented on the afternoon of 28 March.

The final decision about where to land the rover is expected to take place no later than mid-2019.

ExoMars is a joint endeavor between ESA and Roscosmos, with important contribution from NASA.

posted 03-29-2017 05:16 PM               

Final two ExoMars landing sites chosen

Two ancient sites on Mars that hosted an abundance of water in the planet's early history have been recommended as the final candidates for the landing site of the 2020 ExoMars rover and surface science platform: Oxia Planum and Mawrth Vallis.

A primary technical constraint is that the landing site be at a suitably low level, so that there is sufficient atmosphere to help slow the landing module's parachute descent.

Then, the 120 x 19 km landing ellipse should not contain features that could endanger the landing, the deployment of the surface platform ramps for the rover to exit, and driving of the rover. This means scrutinizing the region for steep slopes, loose material and large rocks.

Oxia Planum was selected in 2015 for further detailed evaluation. Although not yet complete, the investigation so far indicates that the region would meet the various constraints. In addition, one other site had to be chosen from Aram Dorsum and Mawrth Vallis.

After a two-day meeting with experts from the Mars science community, industry, and ExoMars project, during which the scientific merits of the three sites were presented alongside the preliminary compliance status with the engineering constraints, it was concluded that Mawrth Vallis will be the second site to be evaluated in more detail.

Around a year before launch, the final decision will be taken on which site will become the ExoMars 2020 landing target.

All of the sites lie just north of the equator, in a region with many channels cutting through from the southern highlands to the northern lowlands. As such, they preserve a rich record of geological history from the planet's wetter past billions of years ago, and are prime targets for missions like ExoMars that are searching for signatures of past life on Mars.

Oxia Planum lies at a boundary where many channels emptied into the vast lowland plains and exhibits layers of clay-rich minerals that were formed in wet conditions some 3.9 billion years ago.

Observations from orbit show that the minerals in Oxia Planum are representative of those found in a wide area around this region, and so would provide insight into the conditions experienced at a global scale during this epoch of martian history.

Mawrth Vallis is a large outflow channel a few hundred kilometers away from Oxia Planum. The proposed landing ellipse is just to the south of the channel. The entire region exhibits extensively layered, clay-rich sedimentary deposits, and a diversity of minerals that suggests a sustained presence of water over a period of several hundred million years, perhaps including localized ponds.

In addition, light-toned fractures containing 'veins' of water-altered minerals point to interactions between rocks and liquid in subsurface aquifers, and possible hydrothermal activity that may have been beneficial to any ancient life forms.

Mawrth Vallis offers a window into a large period of martian history that could probe the early evolution of the planet's environment over time.

"While all three sites under discussion would give us excellent opportunities to look for signatures of ancient biomarkers and gain new insights into the planet's wetter past, we can only carry two sites forward for further detailed analysis," says Jorge Vago, ESA's ExoMars rover project scientist.

"Thus, after an intense meeting, which focused primarily on the scientific merits of the sites, the Landing Site Selection Working Group has recommended that Mawrth Vallis join Oxia Planum as one of the final two candidates for the ExoMars 2020 mission.

"Both candidate sites would explore a period of ancient martian history that hasn't been studied by previous missions."

Efforts will now focus on understanding these two sites in the greatest possible detail. On the science side, this includes identifying specific sites where the rover could use its drill to retrieve samples from below the surface, and to define possible traverses it could make covering up to 5 km from its touchdown point in order to reach the maximum number of interesting sites.

On the engineering side, teams will continue to map the distribution and sizes of rocks and craters, and to document the angles of local slopes and the coverage of soft 'sand', to ensure the landing and traverses across the planet are as safe as possible. A detailed study will now begin for Mawrth Vallis.

The rover and stationary surface science platform contain suites of instruments that will conduct a thorough analysis of the landing site and its surroundings. While the rover will drive to different locations to analyze the surface and subsurface in search of clues for past life, the stationary platform will provide context imaging at the landing site, and long-term climate monitoring and atmospheric investigations.

posted 07-21-2018 09:10 PM               

Astronaut Tim Peake launches competition to name ExoMars Rover

The UK Space Agency has launched a competition to name a rover which is being sent to Mars to search for signs of life, as the UK Government's Holiday Makers campaign kicks off, as part of the Year of Engineering.

Enter the competition | Terms and Conditions

Due to launch in August 2020 the UK-built rover is part of the European Space Agency's ExoMars mission which will look at how Mars has evolved and whether there may be conditions for life.

The ExoMars rover will be the first of its kind to travel across the Martian surface and drill down to determine if evidence of life is buried underground, protected from the destructive radiation that impinges the surface today. It will collect samples and analyse them with next-generation instruments, many designed by British engineers.

Science Minister Sam Gyimah said:

"Exploring the surface of another planet is what many scientists and researchers dream of and now a British-built rover will travel the surface of Mars to answer some fundamental questions, and the public can be part of this exciting new chapter by naming the rover. We want creative and bold entries – I'll start the ball rolling with Rover McRoverface!

"The ExoMars mission showcases the very best of the UK's world-leading robotics expertise and this mission will inspire the next generation of engineers, scientists and space enthusiasts to be part of the journey as the UK continues to reach for the stars. We are truly entering the new Great British Space Age."

The competition was unveiled by British ESA astronaut Tim Peake at the Farnborough International Airshow today (Friday 20th July). Tim Peake said:

"Mars is a fascinating destination, a place where humans will one day work alongside robots to gather new knowledge and search for life in our Solar System.

"The ExoMars rover is a vital part of this journey of exploration and we're asking you to become part of this exciting mission and name the rover that will scout the Martian surface."

The UK is the second largest European contributor to the ExoMars mission, behind Italy, having invested €287 million in the mission and £14 million on the instruments.

Airbus Defence and Space is leading the build of the rover while the UCL Mullard Space Science Laboratory is leading on a key instrument known as the PanCam, a high resolution 3D camera which will be used to look at the terrain and rocks to try to detect signs of life.

Leicester University and Teledyne e2v are involved in work on the Raman Spectrometer with STFC RAL Space processing the data it delivers. ExoMars will be the first mission to combine the capability to move across the surface and to study Mars at depth.

The rover, which is due to land on Mars in March 2021, uses solar panels to generate the required electrical power, and is designed to survive the cold Martian nights with the help of batteries and heater units.

Another part of the ExoMars mission, the Trace Gas Orbiter, is already at Mars, looking for atmospheric gases that may be linked to active geological or biological processes.

In 2014 more than 4,000 people responded to a call to name Tim Peake's 6-month mission to the International Space Station, with Principia being chosen as the winner. The name referred to Isaac Newton's world-changing three-part text on physics, Naturalis Principia Mathematica, describing the principal laws of motion and gravity.

The Holiday Makers is a summer-long campaign to get kids making, inventing and having fun in the Year of Engineering. The campaign is supported by organisations such across the country, including the UK Space Agency, and there are lots of ways for families to get involved over the summer holidays, from free activities that kids can do at home, to events across the country and weekly challenges from partners like the Science Museum.

Engineering makes a major contribution to our economy, from driving advances in healthcare and communication to supporting our growing space industry, but the sector faces a major skills gap and lack of diversity – there is annual shortage of 20,000 engineering graduates each year, only 12% of the engineering workforce is female, and less than 8% comes from a black, Asian or ethnic minority background.

As well as the honour of naming the rover the winner of the competition will receive a tour for four people of the Airbus facility in Stevenage where the Mars rover is being built.

posted 02-07-2019 08:15 AM               

ESA's Mars rover has a name – Rosalind Franklin

The ExoMars rover that will search for the building blocks of life on the Red Planet has a name: Rosalind Franklin. The prominent scientist behind the discovery of the structure of DNA will have her symbolic footprint on Mars in 2021.

A panel of experts chose "Rosalind Franklin" from over 36 000 entries submitted by citizens from all ESA Member States, following a competition launched by the UK Space Agency in July last year.

The ExoMars rover will be the first of its kind to combine the capability to roam around Mars and to study it at depth. The Red Planet has hosted water in the past, but has a dry surface exposed to harsh radiation today.

Above: Rosalind Franklin with microscope in 1955. (MRC Laboratory of Molecular Biology)

The rover bearing Rosalind Franklin's name will drill down to two meters into the surface to sample the soil, analyze its composition and search for evidence of past – and perhaps even present – life buried underground.

The rover is part of the ExoMars program, a joint endeavor between ESA and the Russian State Space Corporation, Roscosmos.

What's in a name?

Rosalind Elsie Franklin was a British chemist and X-ray crystallographer who contributed to unraveling the double helix structure of our DNA. She also made enduring contributions to the study of coal, carbon and graphite. ESA has a long tradition of naming its missions for great scientists, including Newton, Planck and Euclid.

"This name reminds us that it is in the human genes to explore. Science is in our DNA, and in everything we do at ESA. Rosalind the rover captures this spirit and carries us all to the forefront of space exploration," says ESA Director General Jan Woerner.

Above: The name of the European rover that will explore Mars in 2021 was revealed on Feb. 7, 2019 at Airbus, Stevenage, UK by Chris Skidmore, UK Science Minister. (ESA/S. Corvaja)

The name was revealed this morning (Feb. 7) in the "Mars Yard" at Airbus Defence and Space in Stevenage, in the United Kingdom, where the rover is being built. ESA astronaut Tim Peake met the competition entrants who chose the winning name, and toured the facility with UK Science Minister Chris Skidmore.

"This rover will scout the martian surface equipped with next-generation instruments – a fully-fledged automated laboratory on Mars," says Tim.

"With it, we are building on our European heritage in robotic exploration, and at the same time devising new technologies."

The rover will relay data to Earth through the Trace Gas Orbiter, a spacecraft searching for tiny amounts of gases in the martian atmosphere that might be linked to biological or geological activity since 2016.

Rosalind has already a proposed landing site. Last November a group of experts chose Oxia Planum near the martian equator to explore an ancient environment that was once water-rich and that could have been colonized by primitive life.

posted 07-03-2019 10:38 AM               

ExoMars 2020: progress and challenges

The full parachute system that will help deliver the ExoMars rover and a surface science platform to the martian surface has completed a full-scale high-altitude deployment sequence test, although unexpected damage to the main parachutes occurred.

Meanwhile, the main elements of the descent module hardware, including the heat shield that will protect the lander as it enters the atmosphere of Mars, have been delivered to Thales Alenia Space in Turin, Italy, this week. The European carrier spacecraft that will carry the mission from Earth to Mars, and the Russian landing platform named Kazachok already arrived in Italy earlier this year. The rover, named Rosalind Franklin, is currently being fitted with hardware and its scientific payload in Stevenage, UK. Once fully integrated, the hardware will be tested to ensure it is ready for the journey to space, and operations on Mars.

As part of the planned upcoming testing, the parachute system will be adjusted to address a problem observed in the most recent high-altitude drop test, conducted on 28 May at the Swedish Space Corporation Esrange facility in Kiruna.

The descent module needs two parachutes – each with its own pilot chute for extraction – to help slow the craft prior to landing. Following separation of the parachutes, the speed must be suitable for the braking engines to safely deliver the landing platform and the rover onto the surface of Mars. The entire sequence from atmospheric entry to landing takes just six minutes.

Last year the second and largest main parachute was successfully tested in a low-altitude drop test from an altitude of 1.2 km, deployed by a helicopter. The parachute has a diameter of 35 m, which is the largest parachute ever to fly on a Mars mission. The most recent test took place from a height of 29 km with the aid of a stratospheric helium balloon, and focused on the deployment sequence of all four parachutes.

A precise release of the drop test vehicle occurred at the planned altitude and the first pyrotechnic mortar activated normally to release the first pilot chute – which inflated correctly.

The main parachute lid release mechanism worked and the first main parachute also inflated well, but several radial tears in the fabric were observed immediately following extraction from the main parachute bag, before the parachute experienced maximum load.

The second pyrotechnic mortar also worked normally, ejecting the second pilot chute, which also inflated as expected. The second main parachute was extracted from its bag, but one radial tear was observed, again before reaching peak inflation loads.

All the data onboard the drop test vehicle were recovered and analyzed. These data include acceleration, angular rates, magnetometer, GPS, and barometer data, together with camera footage.

Detailed analysis of the telemetry parameters recorded during the test confirmed that a good level of the expected aerodynamic drag was nevertheless achieved in spite of the parachute tears. The overall descent time of the entire test was also close to prediction.

The second parachute was quickly recovered and examined while it took a few days to identify and recover the first parachute that had traveled over 100 km following separation.

"Hardware recovery was essential to help define necessary improvements prior to the next test," says Francois Spoto, ExoMars team leader.

"We will implement design improvements to the parachute bags to ensure smoother extraction of the parachute, as well as reinforcements to the parachute itself to limit tear propagation in case some would still occur. The complex process of folding and packing the parachutes and hundreds of lines will also be examined."

Two further parachute tests are planned for later in 2019.

"Although the overall test sequence was successful, we always expected to encounter some problems while testing such a complex system," says Francois.

"This is why we test, test and test again, to overcome potential weakness and make sure we have the strongest system flying to Mars. We are working harder than ever to keep on track for our launch window next year."

The mission is scheduled for launch in July 2020, arriving at Mars in March 2021. After driving off the surface platform, Rosalind Franklin 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 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 2020 mission once it arrives at Mars.

posted 08-12-2019 09:41 AM               

ExoMars parachute testing continues

As the second ExoMars mission, comprising a rover and surface science platform, progresses towards launch next year, teams continue to troubleshoot the parachute design following an unsuccessful high-altitude drop test last week.

The European-built Rosalind Franklin rover and the Russian-led surface platform, Kazachok, are nearing completion. They will be encapsulated in a descent module, and transported to Mars by a carrier module, following launch on a Proton rocket from Baikonur.

The descent module needs two parachutes – each with its own pilot chute for extraction – to help slow the craft prior to landing. Following separation of the parachutes, the speed must be suitable for the braking engines to safely deliver the landing platform and the rover onto the surface of Mars. The entire sequence from atmospheric entry to landing takes just six minutes.

As part of the planned testing prior to launch, several parachute tests were scheduled at the Swedish Space Corporation Esrange site. The first took place last year and demonstrated the successful deployment and inflation of the largest main parachute in a low-altitude drop test from 1.2 km, deployed by a helicopter. The parachute has a diameter of 35 m, which is the largest parachute ever to fly on a Mars mission.

On 28 May this year, the deployment sequence of all four parachutes was tested for the first time from a height of 29 km – released from a stratospheric helium balloon. While the deployment mechanisms activated correctly, and the overall sequence was completed, both main parachute canopies suffered damage.

Following hardware inspection, adaptations were implemented to the design of the parachutes and bags ready for the next high-altitude test, which was conducted on 5 August, this time just focusing on the larger, 35 m diameter, parachute.

Preliminary assessment shows that the initial steps were completed correctly, however damages to the canopy were observed prior to inflation, similar to the previous test. As a result, the test module descended under the drag of the pilot chute alone.

"It is disappointing that the precautionary design adaptations introduced following the anomalies of the last test have not helped us to pass the second test successfully, but as always we remain focused and are working to understand and correct the flaw in order to launch next year," says Francois Spoto, ESA's ExoMars Team Leader.

All hardware, videos and recorded telemetries have now been recovered and are currently under evaluation. The analysis should reveal the root cause of the anomaly and will be able to guide the way forward in terms of further modifications that might be required to the parachute system before subsequent test opportunities.

A further high-altitude test is already foreseen for the first main parachute before the end of this year. The next qualification attempt of the second main parachute is then anticipated for early 2020.

In parallel, the teams are investigating the possibility to manufacture additional parachute test models and conducting ground-based simulations to mimic the dynamic nature of parachute extraction, since there are not many opportunities for full-scale high-altitude drop tests.

Furthermore, in addition to the regular forum of exchanges between ESA and NASA experts, a workshop of Mars parachute specialists will convene next month to share knowledge.

"Getting to Mars and in particular landing on Mars is very difficult," adds Francois. "We are committed to flying a system that will safely deliver our payload to the surface of the Mars in order to conduct its unique science mission."

The mission is scheduled for launch in the window 25 July–13 August 2020, arriving at Mars 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 neighbour planet.

The rover is currently nearing completion at Airbus Defence and Space, Stevenage, UK, and will soon begin its environmental test campaign at Airbus Toulouse, France. At the same time, the flight carrier module comprising the descent module and lander platform will begin its final round of testing at Thales Alenia Space, Cannes, France. The rover will be integrated into the spacecraft in early 2020.

The ExoMars programme is a joint endeavour 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 2020 mission once it arrives at Mars in March 2021.

posted 10-15-2019 05:56 AM               

ExoMars Parachute Progress

Positive steps towards solving the problems discovered with the ExoMars mission parachutes have been taken in the last month to keep on track for the July-August 2020 launch window.

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.

posted 03-12-2020 07:37 AM               

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.

posted 01-23-2022 03:02 PM               

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.

posted 03-17-2022 08:17 AM               

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.