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'''''Schiaparelli'' EDM lander''' was the Entry, Descent and Landing Demonstrator Module (EDM) of the [[ExoMars]] project.<ref name="Lander naming">{{cite news |first=Sean |last=Patterson |title=ESA Names ExoMars Lander 'Schiaparelli' |date=8 November 2013 |url=http://spacefellowship.com/news/art35863/exomars-lander-module-named-schiaparelli.html |work=Space Fellowship}}</ref> It was built in [[Italy]]<ref name="The European probe to Mars takes off today from [[Turin Airport]]">{{cite web |url=http://www.lastampa.it/2015/12/22/cronaca/exomars-la-sonda-europea-per-marte-decolla-oggi-dacaselle-abkJaB75hbKzy8FdowyMpL/pagina.html |title=The European probe to Mars takes off today from Turin Airport |date=23 December 2015 |work=[[La Stampa]]}}</ref> and was intended to test technology for future soft landing on the surface of [[Mars]].
'''''Schiaparelli'' EDM lander''' was the Entry, Descent and Landing Demonstrator Module (EDM) of the [[ExoMars]] project.<ref name="Lander naming">{{cite news |first=Sean |last=Patterson |title=ESA Names ExoMars Lander 'Schiaparelli' |date=8 November 2013 |url=http://spacefellowship.com/news/art35863/exomars-lander-module-named-schiaparelli.html |work=Space Fellowship}}</ref> It was built in [[Italy]] and was intended to test technology for future soft landing on the surface of [[Mars]].<ref name="The European probe to Mars takes off today from [[Turin Airport]]">{{cite web |url=http://www.lastampa.it/2015/12/22/cronaca/exomars-la-sonda-europea-per-marte-decolla-oggi-dacaselle-abkJaB75hbKzy8FdowyMpL/pagina.html |title=The European probe to Mars takes off today from Turin Airport |date=23 December 2015 |work=[[La Stampa]]}}</ref>


It was launched together with the [[ExoMars Trace Gas Orbiter]] (TGO) on 14 March 2016 and attempted landing on 19 October 2016. Signals from the lander were lost during its final landing stages.<ref name="ESA-20161019">{{cite news |url=http://m.esa.int/Our_Activities/Space_Science/ExoMars/ExoMars_TGO_reaches_Mars_orbit_while_EDM_situation_under_assessment |title=ExoMars TGO reaches Mars orbit while EDM situation under assessment |work=ESA press release |date=19 October 2016 |accessdate=2016-10-19}}</ref> On 21 October 2016, NASA released a [[Mars Reconnaissance Orbiter]] image showing what appears to be the lander crash site.<ref name="NYT-20161021">{{cite news |last=Chang |first=Kenneth |title=Dark Spot in Mars Photo Is Probably Wreckage of European Spacecraft |url=http://www.nytimes.com/2016/10/22/science/mars-crash-landing-site-explosion.html |date=21 October 2016 |work=[[New York Times]] |accessdate=21 October 2016}}</ref>
It was launched together with the [[ExoMars Trace Gas Orbiter]] (TGO) on 14 March 2016 and attempted landing on 19 October 2016. Signals from the lander were lost during its final landing stages.<ref name="ESA-20161019">{{cite news |url=http://m.esa.int/Our_Activities/Space_Science/ExoMars/ExoMars_TGO_reaches_Mars_orbit_while_EDM_situation_under_assessment |title=ExoMars TGO reaches Mars orbit while EDM situation under assessment |work=ESA press release |date=19 October 2016 |accessdate=2016-10-19}}</ref> On 21 October 2016, NASA released a [[Mars Reconnaissance Orbiter]] image showing what appears to be the lander crash site.<ref name="NYT-20161021">{{cite news |last=Chang |first=Kenneth |title=Dark Spot in Mars Photo Is Probably Wreckage of European Spacecraft |url=http://www.nytimes.com/2016/10/22/science/mars-crash-landing-site-explosion.html |date=21 October 2016 |work=[[New York Times]] |accessdate=21 October 2016}}</ref>

Revision as of 02:56, 22 October 2016

Schiaparelli EDM lander
Model of Schiaparelli lander at the 2013 Paris Air Show
Mission typeMars lander / technology demonstrator
OperatorESA · Roscosmos
COSPAR ID2016-017A
SATCAT no.41388
Websiteexploration.esa.int/mars/46124-mission-overview/
Mission durationPlanned: 2 to 8 sols[1]
Spacecraft properties
ManufacturerThales Alenia Space
Launch mass600 kg (1,300 lb)
DimensionsDiameter: 2.4 m (7.9 ft)
Height: 1.65 m (5.4 ft)
Start of mission
Launch date14 March 2016, 09:31 (2016-03-14UTC09:31) UTC
RocketProton-M/Briz-M
Launch siteBaikonur Site 200/39
ContractorKhrunichev
Mars lander
Landing datePlanned: 19 October 2016
Landing sitePlanned: Meridiani Planum

Schiaparelli EDM lander was the Entry, Descent and Landing Demonstrator Module (EDM) of the ExoMars project.[2] It was built in Italy and was intended to test technology for future soft landing on the surface of Mars.[3]

It was launched together with the ExoMars Trace Gas Orbiter (TGO) on 14 March 2016 and attempted landing on 19 October 2016. Signals from the lander were lost during its final landing stages.[4] On 21 October 2016, NASA released a Mars Reconnaissance Orbiter image showing what appears to be the lander crash site.[5]

Overview

After a 7-month cruise, Schiaparelli separated from the orbiter on 16 October 2016,[6] three days before it arrived at Mars, and crashed into the Meridiani Planum on 19 October 2016. It used a heat shield, parachute and retrorockets to slow its descent. Meanwhile, the TGO (orbiter) entered Mars' orbit and it will undergo several months of aerobraking to adjust its speed and orbit, with actual science activities beginning in late 2017.[7] The TGO will continue serving as a relay satellite for future landing missions until 2022.[8]

The data obtained from Schiaparelli are expected to provide ESA and Roscomos with the technology for landing on the surface of Mars with a controlled soft landing, key technologies for the 2020 ExoMars rover mission.[9]

The lander's name refers to 19th century astronomer Giovanni Schiaparelli, best known for describing the surface features of Mars. He was also the first astronomer to determine the relationship between comet debris and yearly meteor showers.[2]

Launch

The 600 kg descent module Schiaparelli and orbiter completed testing and were integrated to a Proton-M rocket at the Baikonur cosmodrome in Kazakhstan in mid-January 2016.[10] The launch occurred at 09:31 GMT on 14 March 2016.[11] Four rocket burns occurred in the following 10 hours before the descent module and orbiter were released.[12] A signal from the orbiter was received at 21:29 GMT that day, confirming that the launch was successful and the spacecraft was functioning properly.[13] Shortly after separation from the probes, the Briz-M upper booster stage exploded a few kilometers away, without damaging the orbiter or lander.[14]

Entry and landing

The red star denotes the intended landing site for the ExoMars Schiaparelli EDM lander: Meridiani Planum, close to where the Opportunity rover landed.

The Schiaparelli lander separated from the TGO orbiter on 16 October 2016, three days before arrival at Mars, and entered the atmosphere at 21,000 kilometres per hour (13,000 mph; 5.8 km/s).[7] After slowing its initial entry through the atmosphere, the module was to deploy a parachute and complete its landing by using a closed-loop guidance, navigation and control system based on a Doppler radar altimeter sensor, and on-board inertial measurement units. Throughout the descent, various sensors were to record a number of atmospheric parameters and lander performance.[15] The final stages of the landing were to be performed using pulse-firing liquid-fuel engines or retrorockets. About two meters above ground, the engines were designed to turn off and let the platform land on a crushable structure, designed to deform and absorb the final touchdown impact.[9][15]

The landing was planned to take place on Meridiani Planum[9] during the dust storm season, which would provide a unique chance to characterize a dust-loaded atmosphere during entry and descent, and to conduct surface measurements associated with a dust-rich environment.[16] If successful, once on the surface, it was to measure the wind speed and direction, humidity, pressure and surface temperature, and determine the transparency of the atmosphere.[16] It was also designed to make the first measurements of electrical fields at the planet's surface. A descent camera was included in the payload.

Loss of the lander

The Schiaparelli lander attempted an automated landing on 19 October 2016, but the signal was lost unexpectedly a short time before the planned time of the landing.[4][17] ESA's Mars Express and NASA's Mars Reconnaissance Orbiter (MRO) and MAVEN listened for the lander's signal.[4] Initial analysis of returned telemetry (600 megabytes of data[18]) suggests that the heat shield and parachute deployment worked as expected, but the parachute was released too soon. In addition, the subsequent rocket thrusters firing lasted about 3 seconds instead of the expected 30 seconds, so a soft landing appears not to have occurred.[19][20] The Context Camera of NASA's MRO discovered new ground markings that may be related to the lander's impact.[21]

Before (29 May 2016) and after (20 October 2016) MRO images of Schiaparelli landing site on Mars

While the lander seems to have crashed, ESA officials declared Schiaparelli a success because it had fulfilled its primary function of testing the landing system for the ExoMars 2020 surface platform and for the telemetry data that was retrieved.[17][22]

Payload

The lander's surface payload was the meteorological DREAMS (Dust Characterization, Risk Assessment, and Environment Analyser on the Martian Surface) package, consisting of a suite of sensors to measure the wind speed and direction (MetWind), humidity (MetHumi), pressure (MetBaro), surface temperature (MarsTem), the transparency of the atmosphere (Optical Depth Sensor; ODS), and atmospheric electrification (Atmospheric Radiation and Electricity Sensor; MicroARES).[23][24]

The DREAMS payload was intended to function for 2 to 8 Mars days as an environmental station for the duration of the surface mission after landing.[9][15] Combined with measurements (from ODS) of the concentration of atmospheric dust, DREAMS had been hoped to provide new insights into the role of electric forces on dust lifting, the mechanism that initiates dust storms. In addition, the MetHumi sensor was intended to complement MicroARES measurements with critical data about humidity, to enable scientists to better understand the dust electrification process.[24]

In addition to the surface payload, a camera called DECA (Entry and Descent Module Descent Camera) on the lander operated during the descent. It was intended to deliver additional scientific data and exact location data in the form of images.[25] DECA is a reflight of the Visual Monitoring Camera VMC of the Planck mission.

De-scoped instruments

Originally, the EDM lander was planned to carry a group of eleven instruments collectively called the "Humboldt payload",[26] that would be dedicated to investigating the geophysics of the deep interior. But a payload confirmation review in the first quarter of 2009 resulted in a severe descope of the lander instruments, and the Humboldt suite was cancelled entirely.[27]

Initially, Roscosmos offered to contribute a 100 watt radioisotope thermoelectric generator (RTG) power source for the EDM lander to allow it to monitor the local surface environment for a full Martian year,[28][29] but because of complex Russian export control procedures, it later opted for the use of a regular non-rechargeable electric battery with enough power for 2 to 8 sols.[1][30]

Specifications

Diameter 2.4 m (7.9 ft)[31]
Height 1.8 m (5.9 ft)
Mass 600 kg (1,300 lb)
Heat shield material Norcoat Liege
Structure Aluminium sandwich with carbon fiber
reinforced polymer skins
Parachute Disk-gap-band canopy
12 m (39 ft) diameter
Propulsion 3 clusters of 3 hydrazine pulse engines
(400 N each)[9]
Power Non-rechargeable battery
Communications UHF link with the
ExoMars Trace Gas Orbiter

See also

References

  1. ^ a b Schiaparelli science package and science investigations. ESA. 10 March 2016.
  2. ^ a b Patterson, Sean (8 November 2013). "ESA Names ExoMars Lander 'Schiaparelli'". Space Fellowship.
  3. ^ "The European probe to Mars takes off today from Turin Airport". La Stampa. 23 December 2015.
  4. ^ a b c "ExoMars TGO reaches Mars orbit while EDM situation under assessment". ESA press release. 19 October 2016. Retrieved 19 October 2016.
  5. ^ Chang, Kenneth (21 October 2016). "Dark Spot in Mars Photo Is Probably Wreckage of European Spacecraft". New York Times. Retrieved 21 October 2016.
  6. ^ Malik, Tariq (16 October 2016). "European Mars Lander Separates From Mothership, Takes Aim at Red Planet". Space.com. Retrieved 16 October 2016.
  7. ^ a b Aron, Aron (7 March 2016). "ExoMars probe set to sniff out signs of life on the Red Planet". New Scientist. Retrieved 7 March 2016.
  8. ^ Allen, Mark; Witasse, Olivier (16 June 2011), "2016 ESA/NASA ExoMars Trace Gas Orbiter", MEPAG June 2011, Jet Propulsion Laboratory (PDF)
  9. ^ a b c d e "Schiaparelli: the ExoMars Entry, Descent and Landing Demonstrator Module". ESA. 2013. Retrieved 1 October 2014.
  10. ^ "ExoMars 2016 Schiaparelli Module in Baikonur". ESA. SpaceRef. 6 January 2016. Retrieved 6 January 2016.
  11. ^ Jonathan Amos (14 March 2016). "Mars methane mission lifts off". BBC. Retrieved 14 March 2016.
  12. ^ Elizabeth Gibney (11 March 2016). "Mars launch to test collaboration between Europe and Russia". Nature. doi:10.1038/nature.2016.19547. Retrieved 14 March 2016.
  13. ^ "ExoMars on its way to solve the Red Planet's mysteries". ESA. 14 March 2016. Retrieved 15 March 2016.
  14. ^ King, Bob (24 March 2016). "ExoMars Mission Narrowly Avoids Exploding Booster". Universe Today. Retrieved 25 March 2016.
  15. ^ a b c Vago, J; et al. (August 2013). "ExoMars, ESA's next step in Mars exploration" (PDF). ESA Bulletin magazine. No. 155. pp. 12–23.
  16. ^ a b "Entry, Descent and Surface Science for 2016 Mars Mission". Science Daily. 10 June 2010.
  17. ^ a b Chan, Sewell (20 October 2016). "No Signal From Mars Lander, but European Officials Declare Mission a Success". New York Times. Retrieved 20 October 2016.
  18. ^ de Selding, Perer B. (20 October 2016). "Europe's ExoMars enters Mars orbit, but lander feared lost". Space News. Paris. Retrieved 21 October 2016.
  19. ^ "Schiaparelli descent data: decoding underway". ESA. 20 October 2016. Retrieved 20 October 2016.
  20. ^ Amos, Jonathan (21 October 2016). "Schiaparelli Mars probe's parachute 'jettisoned too early'". BBC News. Germany. Retrieved 21 October 2016.
  21. ^ "Camera on Mars Orbiter Shows Signs of Latest Mars Lander". NASA. Retrieved 21 October 2016.
  22. ^ Wall, Mike (21 October 2016). "ExoMars '96 Percent' Successful Despite Lander Crash: ESA". Space.com. Retrieved 21 October 2016.
  23. ^ F. Esposito, et al., DREAMS for the ExoMars 2016 mission: a suite of sensors for the characterization of Martian environment" (PDF). European Planetary Science Congress 2013, EPSC Abstracts Vol. 8, EPSC2013-815 (2013)
  24. ^ a b "EDM surface payload". European Space Agency (ESA). 19 December 2011.
  25. ^ Ferri, F.; Forget, F.; Lewis, S.R.; Karatekin, O. (16–22 June 2012), "ExoMars Atmospheric Mars Entry and Landing Investigations and Analysis (AMELIA)" (PDF), ExoMars Entry, Descent and Landing Science, Toulouse, France, archived from the original (PDF) on 23 October 2013 {{citation}}: |format= requires |url= (help)CS1 maint: location missing publisher (link)
  26. ^ "The ExoMars Instruments". European Space Agency. Archived from the original on 26 October 2012. Retrieved 8 May 2012. {{cite web}}: Unknown parameter |deadurl= ignored (|url-status= suggested) (help)
  27. ^ Amos, Jonathan (15 June 2009). "Europe's Mars mission scaled back". BBC News.
  28. ^ Amos, Jonathan (15 March 2012). "Europe still keen on Mars missions". BBC News.
  29. ^ Morring, Jr., Frank (14 February 2012). "NASA Units Hope For Robotic Mars Mission In 2018". Aviation Week.
  30. ^ de Selding, Peter B. (5 October 2012). "Russian Export Rules Force ExoMars Mission Changes". Space News.
  31. ^ "ExoMars". Russian Space Web. Retrieved 22 October 2013.
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