Tag: ExoMars
-
Europe’s new Mars orbiter gives first taste of science data
The first ExoMars stereo reconstruction of a small area in a region called Noctis Labyrinthus. The image gives an altitude map of the region with a resolution of less than 20 meters (66 feet). The images used to make the 3D profile were taken on Nov. 22, 2016, and are among the first to be…
-
ESA says doomed Mars lander succumbed to bad altitude reading
Artist’s concept of the Schiaparelli lander inside its scorched heat shield. Credit: ESA/ATG medialab One second of faulty data led to the destruction of a European spacecraft on final descent to Mars last month, officials said Wednesday. An unexplained error in the Schiaparelli lander’s Inertial Measurement Unit, or IMU, fed incorrect data into the craft’s…
-
Mars orbital image shows Schiaparelli lander’s crash site in inglorious color
Blackened streaks and bright bits of debris can be seen in this image of the crash zone for the European Space Agency’s Schiaparelli lander. (Credit: NASA / JPL-Caltech / University of Arizona) High-resolution color images from NASA’s Mars Reconnaissance Orbiter show the spot where the European Space Agency’s Schiaparelli lander crashed – in black and white and…
-
New images resolve finer details of Mars lander’s crash site
This Oct. 25, 2016, image shows the area where the European Space Agency’s Schiaparelli test lander reached the surface of Mars, with magnified insets of three sites where components of the spacecraft hit the ground. At center-right is the main impact site of the Schiaparelli lander. The locations of the lander’s back shell and attached…
-
Schiaparelli landing data to aid ExoMars 2020 rover
While the final result was not as intended, data from the European Space Agency’s Schiaparelli lander, which failed to make a successful soft landing on the surface of Mars last week, will live on in the form of the ExoMars 2020 rover, which will use data from Schiaparelli to upgrade and enhance its landing technology…
-
Mars orbiter locates Schiaparelli lander’s crash site
Before-and-after images of the Schiaparelli landing site taken May 29, 2016, and on Thursday show two new features attributed to the lander. A dark fuzzy marking near the top of the frame is from the impact of the Schiaparelli lander, and a bright dot lower in the image is likely the lander’s parachute. Credit: NASA/JPL-Caltech/MSSS…
-
Last data from Schiaparelli Mars lander hold clues to what went wrong
Artist’s concept illustrating the moment the Schiaparelli lander was to jettison its back shell and parachute and ignite its descent engines. Credit: ESA/ATG medialab The first sign of trouble from Europe’s Schiaparelli lander came around the time the probe was supposed to jettison its parachute and fire thrusters to brake for touchdown on the vast…
-
Live coverage: ExoMars orbiter steers into orbit around Mars, lander’s fate TBD
Live coverage of the ExoMars Trace Gas Orbiter and the Schiaparelli lander arriving at Mars. Text updates will appear automatically below; there is no need to reload the page. Follow us on Twitter.
-
ExoMars completes crucial orbit insertion, hope lost for lander
After a seven month cruise between worlds, ESA and Russia’s Trace Gas Orbiter (TGO) and the Italian Space Agency’s Schiaparelli lander arrived for their crucial orbit insertion burn (TGO) and landing (Schiaparelli) on Mars. Schiaparelli’s trip to the surface gained a large amount of data, but suffered a crash landing. However, TGO’s Mars Orbit Insertion was…
-
ESA celebrates ExoMars orbiter success, keeps vigil for lost lander
Artist’s concept of the ExoMars Trace Gas Orbiter firing its main engine to enter orbit around Mars. Credit: ESA/ATG medialab A European-built orbiter designed to seek out the source of methane on Mars slipped into orbit around the red planet Wednesday after a seven-month interplanetary journey, but mission control lost contact with an experimental landing…