ExoMars 2016: getting close to landing!

19 Oct 2016

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On October 16, the whole world witnessed the separation of the two modules in the ExoMars 2016 spacecraft: the Trace Gas Orbiter (TGO) and the Entry, descent and landing Demonstrator Module (EDM), dubbed Schiaparelli. Today, no matter what happens, will be an historic day for Europe. The interplanetary probe set off for the Red Planet back on March 14, 2016, on a challenging seven-month trip that clocked up nearly 500 million kilometers. Today, we’ll be telling you about all the steps in the most delicate part of this unprecedented “Space Oddity” (in homage to the famous David Bowie song): the landing of the Schiaparelli module on Mars!

The delicate art of planetary landing

This evening, while the orbiter goes into its definitive orbit at an altitude of 400 kilometers above the Red Planet, the Schiaparelli landing module will be the object of everybody’s attention.

The last 6 minutes

The last phase will only last 6 minutes – but real jam-packed minutes, barely bearable by everybody watching. 360 seconds that will go by in a flash for some, and that will seem to last forever for all those who contributed to this program. Are you ready? Let’s start our countdown upwards from 0…

0: The orbiter enters the Martian atmosphere at an altitude of about 121 kilometers and a speed of 21,000 km/h.

1 min 12 sec: The descent continues, as the 600-kg Schiaparelli module reaches a top speed of 19,000 km/h. The outside temperature hits about 1,750°C, but the heat shield protects the vital instruments inside. Altitude: 45 kilometers.

3 min 21 sec: The parachute is deployed, reducing the speed to about 1,700 km/h. We’re 11 km over terra firma… Martian style!

4 min 1 sec: The forward shield is jettisoned, allowing the Doppler radar altimeter to get the Red Planet in view. We’re getting closer, only 7 more kilometers to go. And the speed has really dropped in the last three minutes, to an estimated 320 km/h.

5 min 22 sec: Watch out, we’re almost there. The speed has decreased further, to 240 km/h. Just a few seconds to go until our controlled landing, which has to be as soft as possible. The aft (upper) shield is jettisoned, along with the parachute. After a headlong dash of nearly 500 million kilometers, only 1.2 kilometers to go!

5 min 23 sec: A second later, with no more parachute to slow the fall, the module is at an altitude of 1.1 km and speed has increased a bit to 250 km/h. The retrorockets – nine hydrazine thrusters – are ignited, and along with guidance, control and navigation sensors, they ensure a carefully controlled final descent.

5 min 52 sec: Schiaparelli is just 2 meters above the planet’s surface, at a speed of 4 to 7 km/h. The retrorockets are shut down.

5 min 53 sec: A second later, the demonstrator lands, under the force of gravity alone. Its impact with Mars is cushioned by a crushable honeycomb structure that protects it. Schiaparelli has landed on Mars!

This is not science fiction, but the scenario for the last act of the ExoMars 2016 mission. Everybody, from space agencies and industry to space and technology enthusiasts, is impatiently awaiting the high point of the unprecedented European mission.

Post ExoMars 2016

The ExoMars 2016 mission will generate large volumes of data during atmospheric reentry. In particular, the mission is designed to validate the concepts and technologies that enable a safe descent and landing on Mars. The lander demonstrator carries a scientific payload capable of measuring wind speed, humidity, atmospheric pressure, ground temperature, atmospheric transparency, electrical fields and more. Meanwhile, the TGO will orbit the planet at an altitude of 400 km, carefully observing both the atmosphere and the surface. It will study gas traces and sources in the atmosphere, to support our search for any traces of life on Mars. Designed to stay in operation until 2022, the orbiter will study the surface of Mars to pave the way for the follow-on 2020 mission. Thales Alenia Space is the industrial prime contractor for both of these missions, working on behalf of the European Space Agency (ESA) and the Russian space agency Roscosmos.

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