[meteorite-list] Exomars Prepares to Leave Europe for Launch Site

[Ron Baalke]

http://www.esa.int/Our_Activities/Space_Science/ExoMars_prepares_to_leave_Europe_for_launch_site

Exomars Prepares to Leave Europe for Launch Site
European Space Agency
November 25, 2015

The two ExoMars spacecraft of the 2016 mission are being prepared for 
shipping to the Baikonur Cosmodrome in Kazakhstan ahead of their launch 
in March.

A joint endeavour with Russia's Roscosmos space agency, ExoMars comprises 
two missions. The Trace Gas Orbiter (TGO) and Schiaparelli make up the 
2016 mission, while the 2018 mission will combine a rover and a surface 
science platform. Both missions will be launched on Russian Proton rockets 
from Baikonur.

TGO and Schiaparelli are undergoing final preparations at Thales Alenia 
Space in Cannes, France, where they were today on display for media to 
view for the last time before they leave Europe.

They will be shipped separately in the middle of next month, arriving 
at the cosmodrome on 21 and 23 December, respectively.

EDM module installed at the top of the TGO
"It's been a long road for ExoMars to reach this point, but we are 
now ready to launch in spring next year," says Alvaro Gimenez, ESA Director 
of Science and Robotic Exploration.

"We are about to begin a new era of Mars exploration for Europe and 
our Russian partners."

Sergey Saveliev, Deputy General Director of Roscosmos, says: "ExoMars 
is a unique example of the Russian-European cooperation in deep-space 
exploration.

"The mission of 2016 is just the first stage of our cooperation and, 
in the future, Roscosmos and ESA plan many joint projects to explore near 
and deep space."

Donato Amoroso, deputy CEO of Thales Alenia Space, notes, "For Thales 
Alenia Space, our lead role in the extraordinary ExoMars programme, as 
producer of the orbiter and the entry, descent and landing module for 
in situ exploration of Mars, entails huge technological and human challenges."

The first ExoMars is scheduled for launch on 14 March, at the start of 
a launch window that remains open until 25 March.

After a cruise of almost seven months to Mars, Schiaparelli will separate 
from TGO on 16 October for its entry, descent and landing in the Meridani 
Planum region on 19 October.

TGO, along with ESA's Mars Express and NASA satellites already orbiting 
Mars, will relay data for the few days that Schiaparelli is expected to 
operate on its batteries.

Schiaparelli is primarily a demonstrator to prove a range of technologies 
enabling controlled landings on Mars in future, but it also carries a 
small science package to analyse its local environment once on the surface.

Meanwhile, after a series of aerobraking manoeuvres in 2017, TGO will 
enter orbit around Mars, from where it will take a detailed inventory 
of the gases in the planet's atmosphere.

Of special interest are the abundance and distribution of methane: its 
presence implies an active, current source, and TGO will help to determine 
whether it stems from a geological or biological source.

"TGO will analyse 'trace gases' in the atmosphere," says Hakan 
Svedhem, ESA's project scientist. "Even though they make up less than 
one percent of the atmospheric inventory, they should provide key indicators 
to the nature of any active processes, helping us to determine just how 
'alive' Mars may be today.

"TGO will also monitor seasonal changes in the composition and temperature 
of the atmosphere, and will map the subsurface to look for hidden water 
ice."

Finally, TGO will also relay data from the rover and surface science platform 
of the 2018 mission.

For further information, please contact:

Markus Bauer
ESA Science and Robotic Exploration Communication Officer
Tel: +31 71 565 6799
Mob: +31 61 594 3 954
Email: Markus.Baueresa.int

Hakan Svedhem
ESA's ExoMars 2016 project scientist
Email: H.Svedhem at esa.int

Rolf de Groot
ESA Coordinator for Robotic Exploration
Email: Rolf.de.Groot at esa.int