ExoMars flies could land – Liberation

It was 10:31 this morning French time, when the Russian Proton rocket took off from its base in Baikonur (Kazakhstan). Everything went well. The fuel tanks were gradually emptied to snatch the rocket to gravity; its stages are detached one after another. Tonight at 9:26 p.m., will dissociate from the last pieces to leave alone in space, the two gears that form the European mission ExoMars: a gas specialist satellite and a lander. Their journey will take seven months to Mars, where they begin to work. And yet, this is only the first part of this extensive exploration mission. In 2018, they will be joined by a small rover to the boil Wall-E to study the Martian soil

There is no reason, after all, that Americans monopolize the Martian space. They now control the Mars Reconnaissance Orbiter (MRO), which is mapping the Red Planet since 2006 and floods of beautiful photos and high-definition color, or the satellite Maven, which seeks to understand why there is almost more the atmosphere on Mars. On the ground, NASA asked the famous Curiosity rover in 2012, and still remote sound Opportunity Elder, who blew his twelve candles and still holds great shape.

With their experience, the Americans initially had give a boost to the European Space Agency (ESA) to enable it to also master the technical landing on Mars. NASA had to provide its rockets to launch the craft of ExoMars, participate in the construction of the satellite and land the rover. But she dropped everything because of budgetary restrictions. Fortunately, ESA was able to establish in 2012 a new partnership with Roscosmos, the Russian Space Agency to ensure its ambitious mission.

Satellite

The satellite TGO and the undercarriage of the ExoMars mission. Modeling ESA-Medialab AOES

In the Russian rocket launched this morning, so there are two bugs: TGO satellite for Trace Gas Orbiter , and LG Schiaparelli. The first is responsible for accurately measure the composition of the Martian atmosphere, particularly in order to detect traces of methane and other trace gases. For who said methane … said maybe biological activity. Of life, what! On Earth, 90% of methane in the air is produced by living organisms.

“Methane is a gas whose lifetime is short in geologic time, and presence requires an active source which could be biological “, said the CNES (CNES). The presence of methane is not a risky assumption or crazy hope of exobiologistes: “Previous Mars missions have found that methane was present in the atmosphere in concentrations varying over time and by location. “ This was for example one of the conclusions of the European Mars Express mission, the satellite is still in orbit around Mars at present but is not sensitive enough for further investigation.

If this is not the microbes that produce methane, we must conclude that it is the geologic activity of the planet. Mars has much beautiful volcanoes, the most massive, Olympus Mons, rises still 27 000 kilometers altitude. For what is known, it is off. But for a few million years … maybe we missed a few discrete volcanic rumblings on the red planet.

The LG

Image ESA

As the name suggests, the lander accompanying satellite TGO’s sole job … to land on Mars (and no, we do not say “amarsir”!). Just to prove we got to do it, that in mastering the subtleties and we can reproduce the year when there will be a real challenge in 2018, bringing the rover safely without ExoMars crush on the Martian soil like a common meteorite. We remember the barouf had done when Nasa’s Curiosity had landed in August 2012 around these “seven minutes of terror” where everything connects a series of maneuvers, and where the slightest technical fault can screw up the mission and several billion dollars. A small-scale simulation will therefore not harm ExoMars.

the lander Schiaparelli in input phase in the Martian atmosphere. ESA modeling

That’s why on his identity card, LG is actually called “entry demonstrator module, descent and landing” (EDM). But friends, he prefers to be called Schiaparelli, a tribute to the Italian astronomer of the nineteenth ^th century (born on March 14) known to have spotted straight formations on the surface of Mars , which he called “channels” which unleashed the imagination of much of the Terrans on their possible artificial origin.

in late October, Schiaparelli therefore begin by cash with the heat shield heat generated by the arrival of high speed its 600 kg in the Martian atmosphere. He then deploy a giant parachute – 12 meters wide – much more impressive than the one he needed on Earth, because the Martian atmosphere is thin

/md1.libe.com/photo/859685-edm_descent.jpg?modified_at=1457956240&width=750" class = "i_orig" alt = "The lander Schiaparelli downhill phase Mod xe9 & #;. lisation ESA "width =" 100% "data-responsive =" 1 "/> The lander Schiaparelli descent phase. ESA modeling

Finally, it will trigger the “closed loop system of guidance, navigation and control based on a Doppler radar altimeter sensor and inertial measurement units aboard” to browse through the last few meters that separate it from the surface. In French, it means that constantly measure its speed and altitude to lead to automatic ignition intermittently its 9 retros, and curb fully controlled manner into contact with the ground. It is impossible to give it a helping hand from the Earth as it takes fifteen minutes from time to communicate between the two planets, the lander will have to fend

Schiaparelli in the landing phase. ESA modeling

The arrival on Mars of our European explorers is scheduled for 19 October.

Camille Gevaudan