News Archive / Tagged: Trace Gas Orbiter

• ESA completes investigation of Schiaparelli crash

  Jim SharkeyJune 2nd, 2017

  An independent external inquiry into the crash-landing of the ExoMars Schiaparelli module has determined that conflicting information in the onboard computer caused the descent sequence to end prematurely.

• What’s next for ESA’s ExoMars mission?

  Jason RhianNovember 27th, 2016

  ExoMars. The word elicits images of a mission fraught with change, turmoil, and misfortune. Exomars is a mission that has persistently pushed past hurdle after hurdle to make its way to the Red Planet. With the recent loss of the Schiaparelli Lander, that trend does not appear to be changing.

• Schiaparelli may be dead but TGO saves the ExoMars mission

  Tomasz NowakowskiNovember 24th, 2016

  More than one month has now passed since the arrival of Europe’s ExoMars mission at the Red Planet. Although the mission’s Schiaparelli module has crashed onto the Martian surface, the Trace Gas Orbiter (TGO) is in excellent shape and prepares for science operations.

• Mars Reconnaissance Orbiter spies Schiaparelli crash site

  Bart LeahyOctober 30th, 2016

  NASA’s Mars Reconnaissance Orbiter (MRO) has spotted the crash site of Schiaparelli, the lander portion of the European Space Agency (ESA) ExoMars 2016 mission. Images taken by MRO’s High-Resolution Imaging Science Experiment (HiRISE) camera on October 25 show three impact locations within about 0.9 miles (1.5 kilometers) of each other.

• Lost on Mars: Schiaparelli lander falls silent shortly before touchdown

  Tomasz NowakowskiOctober 20th, 2016

  ESA still awaits a signal from its ExoMars "Schiaparelli" module, which was expected to land on Mars at 10:48 a.m. EDT (14:48 GMT) on Wednesday, Oct. 19. Contact with the spacecraft was lost about a minute before the planned touchdown on the Martian surface.

• ExoMars mission arrives at the Red Planet after seven-month journey

  Tomasz NowakowskiOctober 19th, 2016

  Europe’s ExoMars 2016 mission has finally arrived at the Red Planet on October 19, completing a lengthy interplanetary trip. The Trace Gas Orbiter (TGO) has been inserted into Martian orbit and the "Schiaparelli" module descended to the planet’s surface. However, the fate of the lander is currently unknown as ESA still awaits for the confirmation of the touchdown.

• DREAMS of Mars: Europe’s ExoMars mission in the middle of dust season

  Tomasz NowakowskiOctober 13th, 2016

  The joint ESA-Roscosmos ExoMars 2016 mission is a week away from arriving at Mars to answer important astrobiological questions. While the mission’s "Schiaparelli" demonstrator will focus on testing landing technologies, one of its scientific instruments will be in the right place at the right time to investigate the planet’s intense dust storms.

• ExoMars spacecraft captures first image of the Red Planet

  Tomasz NowakowskiJune 19th, 2016

  The European-Russian ExoMars spacecraft has just taken a sneak peek of its target destination through its camera lens. Although in low-resolution, the image marks an important milestone for mission scientists, proving the imaging instrument on board the orbiter works as expected.

• Europe goes to Mars: ESA and Roscosmos embark on a joint Martian endeavor

  Tomasz NowakowskiMarch 12th, 2016

  All eyes are on Europe next week as ESA and the Russian Roscosmos State Corporation are sending their joint endeavor to Mars. The mission, known as ExoMars, is awaiting its launch scheduled for Monday, March 14, from the Site 200/39 at the Baikonur Cosmodrome in Kazakhstan.

• Four candidate landing sites considered for 2018 ExoMars mission

  Tomasz NowakowskiOctober 2nd, 2014

  Four possible landing sites are being considered for the ExoMars mission in 2018. Its rover will search for evidence of martian life, past or present. ExoMars is a joint two-mission endeavour between ESA and Russia’s Roscosmos space agency. The Trace Gas Orbiter and an entry, descent and landing demonstrator module, Schiaparelli, will be launched in […]