This mission mounted despite persistent tensions between the EU and Russia and reciprocal sanctions they impose, allows Europeans to start the onslaught of Mars after a first success in 2003 and the Russians to realize their dream of exploring one day.
After making four times the ignition of the Briz-M booster stage to achieve the speed necessary to jump to the red planet, the ExoMars mission is separated as expected, announced the European Space Agency (ESA).
“ The director of flight (the probe) TGO (Trace Gas Orbiter) confirms its successful separation with the booster stage Briz-M ” the Russian Proton rocket, wrote ESA on the social network Twitter.
“ At the moment, TGO must have already oriented towards the Sun and is spinning to maintain a steady pace “, then added ESA.
At 9:28 p.m. GMT, the probe, accompanied by the test lander named Schiaparelli, to send a first signal to ESA.
The ExoMars mission took off with the Proton rocket at 9:31 GMT from the Baikonur cosmodrome in the steppes of Kazakhstan.
A trip of seven months to cover a distance of 496 million kilometers ahead for the mission. At completion, the lander will separate from the probe on 16 October to land on the red planet three days later.
After dropping the landing gear, the TGO probe will enter an elliptical orbit and slow down very gradually to be placed in a circular orbit at 400 km altitude.
“ big nose in space ” will then search for gas in trace amounts in the atmosphere of the planet, including those based on carbon like methane, that interests scientists because on Earth, it is 90% organic. In addition, its lifetime is limited.
Its detection by TGO could therefore be a possible indicator of the actual presence of a micro-organic life on Mars.
The probe will analyze “ if it is organic or if it is the result of a geological process ,” explained Jorge Vago, chief scientist of the ExoMars mission for ESA.
Schiaparelli module name of an Italian astronomer of the nineteenth century will, in turn, serves to teach scientists how to land on Mars. Weighing nearly 600 kilos, it is the size of a small car. Devoid of solar panels, it “ live ” two to four days.
– “ Great responsibility ” –
Initially considered alongside the Americans, the ExoMars mission in 2016 has finally been developed in collaboration with Russia after NASA’s defection for budgetary reasons in 2011.
It should be followed by another Russian-European mission, ExoMars 2018, which will send a car search for traces of past life on Mars including exploring an area where ancient clays are. Scheduled for 2018, it could however be delayed.
This is the second time that Europe participated in the assault on the Red Planet. In 2003, she launched Mars Express, which has completed its scientific mission.
But the small British Beagle 2 lander dropped by Mars Express has never been heard from. He was spotted, eleven years after the surface of the planet.
heir to the Soviet Union sent the first man into space and the first robot on the moon, Russia seeks to revive its part to such feats despite the economic crisis and setbacks stinging recent years.
The Russian ambitions were cut short at first when in 2011 the Phobos-Grunt probe, first Russian interplanetary exploration effort since the failure in November 1996 of the Mars 96, had finished his race in the Pacific ocean.
ExoMars allowed Russian scientists hope again. “ This is a big responsibility, and also for Europe “, in February had welcomed the Director of the Space Research Institute in Moscow, Lev Zeleni.
The “ Roving Mars ” was also the subject of experiments by US astronaut Scott Kelly and Russian cosmonaut Mikhail Kornienko, back on Earth on March 2 after almost a year in orbit.
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