On October 9th 2016, the European Space Agency (ESA) announced that it expects its ExoMars spacecraft to arrive in Mars orbit on Wednesday October 19th 2016. The spacecraft consists of two vehicles, the Trace Gas Orbiter and the Schiaparelli lander. The two vehicles will separate on October 16th as Schiaparelli prepares for its descent to its Meridani landing site on the Martian surface.
The Schiaparelli lander, is named after Giovanni Schiaparelli who was first to observe what he called "canali" or canals on Mars. The lander is basically a demonstrator and its function on this mission is to serve as a trial of procedures and technologies that be will used in future Mars missions. Schiaparelli has a small science package that will be used to measure the wind speed, temperature, humidity and the electric fields of Mars.
While Schiaparelli works on the ground, the Trace Gas Orbiter will carry out its part of the mission from a 400km high orbit. Its science payload features instruments that are designed to detect atmospheric trace gases such as methane, nitrogen oxides, acetylene, and water vapor. It will also keep track of seasonal changes in the atmospheric composition and temperature of Mars, so that detailed models can be created.
The ESA says that this ExoMars mission is the first of two parts. The second part will be the landing a robotic rover that is expected to touch down on the Red Planet in 2021.
No comments:
Post a Comment