Tag: ExoMars

  • Live coverage: ExoMars mission underway after Proton launch

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    Live coverage of the countdown and launch of a Proton rocket with Europe’s ExoMars Trace Gas Orbiter and the Schiaparelli entry, descent and landing demonstrator module to Mars. Text updates will appear automatically below; there is no need to reload the page. Follow us on Twitter.

  • ExoMars team has long wait to confirm launch success

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    Artist’s concept of the Proton rocket’s payload fairing releasing in flight, revealing the ExoMars spacecraft. Credit: ESA–David Ducros It will take more than 12 hours from liftoff of the European Space Agency’s ExoMars Trace Gas Orbiter until engineers verify the mission is on track for Mars after a series of critical in-space maneuvers by the…

  • Ambitious European-led Mars mission ready for liftoff

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    Artist’s concept of the ExoMars Trace Gas Orbiter (TGO) deploying the Schiaparelli Entry Descent and Landing demonstrator module (EDM) just before arrival at Mars in October 2016. Credit: ESA–D. Ducros Humankind’s largest emissary to Mars in a generation is set for blastoff Monday, when Europe and Russia will dispatch a mission to unravel the mystery…

  • Proton rocket reaches launch pad with Mars probe

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    A Russian Proton rocket rolled out to its launch pad at the Baikonur Cosmodrome in Kazakhstan on Friday, riding a specially-built rail car with Europe’s ExoMars mission bound for the red planet. The ExoMars spacecraft, comprising a European-built orbiter and lander, is the only mission launching to Mars this year, scheduled for blastoff at 0931:42…

  • Assembly complete for ExoMars’ Proton launcher

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    Ground teams pose for a picture with the fully assembled Proton rocket with the ExoMars Trace Gas Orbiter and Schiaparelli lander. Credit: Khrunichev Europe’s ExoMars orbiter, due to begin a seven-month journey to the red planet March 14, has met its Russian Proton rocket booster as launch preparations enter the final stages at the Baikonur…

  • European Mars probe encapsulated for launch

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    The ExoMars spacecraft was encapsulated inside the Proton rocket’s payload fairing March 2. Credit: ESA – B. Bethge Europe’s ExoMars orbiter was enclosed inside the nose cone of its Proton rocket Wednesday ahead of its March 14 launch toward the red planet to sniff out the source of Martian methane. The fully-fueled Mars orbiter is…

  • ExoMars orbiter and lander mated for final time

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    European technicians working at the Baikonur Cosmodrome in Kazakhstan have bolted an Italian-built Mars lander to its mothership ahead of a March 14 launch toward the red planet. The attachment is a major step in preparations for next month’s launch the European Space Agency’s first mission to Mars since 2003, and the first of two…

  • European Mars probe arrives at launch site

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    The ExoMars Trace Gas Orbiter is closed inside a shipping container before leaving Thales Alenia Space’s facility in Cannes, France, on Dec. 17. Credit: ESA – B. Bethge Three heavy-duty Antonov cargo planes flew components of Europe’s ExoMars orbiter and lander from Italy to the Baikonur Cosmodrome in Kazkhastan last week, setting up for a…

  • European Mars probe arrives at launch site

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    The ExoMars Trace Gas Orbiter is closed inside a shipping container before leaving Thales Alenia Space’s facility in Cannes, France, on Dec. 17. Credit: ESA – B. Bethge Three heavy-duty Antonov cargo planes flew components of Europe’s ExoMars orbiter and lander from Italy to the Baikonur Cosmodrome in Kazkhastan last week, setting up for a…

  • ExoMars orbiter and lander on display

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    The European Space Agency’s ExoMars Trace Gas Orbiter and Schiaparelli lander were recently presented to the media as they prepare for a tandem launch to the red planet in March. The two spacecraft combined will weigh 4.3 metric tons, or about 9,480 pounds, when fully fueled for liftoff in a 12-day window opening March 14.…