ExoMars goes to Mars orbit, Schiaparelli prepares for landing

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    Launched on March 14, 2016, the Exomars spacecraft approaches Mars and enters its orbit, and the Schiaparelli module is preparing for landing on the planet.

    October 14 was the last correction. October 16 at 17:42 Moscow time (14:42 GMT) from the 3.7-tonne spacecraft there will be a separation of the Schiaparelli module, weighing 577 kg. The speed at which the descent module separates from the spacecraft will be quite small - 0.3 m / s. So that after this the ExoMars orbital spacecraft remains in Mars orbit, a small correction of the flight trajectory will be made on October 17 at 5:42 Moscow time (02:42 GMT), and then the engine will be turned on on October 19 , which will brake the device and bring it to the Martian orbit .On the same day, at 17:42 Moscow time (14:42 GMT), the Schiaparelli module will enter the atmosphere and land on the surface of Mars in 6 minutes. The actual time of events on Mars is indicated; the signal to Earth will arrive with a delay of about 10 minutes.

    Live broadcasts of events will be on this page and on Twitter from @esaoperations, @ESA_ExoMars, @ESA_TGO and @ESA_EDM, as well as through the hashtag #ExoMars.

    The landing site was selected near the Opportunity Mars rover (40 km from its landing site), on the Meridian Plateau . The Mars Express spacecraft detected a high level of methane on this plateau. This terrain at the Martian equator looks from orbit like a frozen sea with huge ice floes: At this time, scientists are very interested in the origin of methane, which may indicate the existence of life under the surface of Mars.

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    The orbital module ExoMars will map places with sources of methane, water vapor and other gases on the surface of Mars. And in 2020 a second spacecraft will arrive to Mars, according to the ExoMars program, with a rover that will study one of these places. After that, the first Exomars will descend to orbit with an altitude of about 400 km to work as a repeater and continue research.

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    The Schiaparelli module is a demonstration - its main goal is to work out new landing technologies that will be used to launch the rover in 2020. However, it also carries scientific equipment for studying the atmosphere near the surface of Mars.

    The visualization of the landing module is presented in this video:

    During the landing, the navigation camera will take black-and-white pictures that will allow the module to recover the trajectory and movement. Photos will be taken at 1.5 intervals, up to a height of about 1.5 km, and an area of ​​approximately 4.6 square meters will be covered. km Then, at a height of about 1.2 km, the parachute and back cover will be dropped, and the brake motors will be turned on, which will be turned off at a height of 2 meters above the surface, and the impact force from a fall from this height will be absorbed by a special absorption part of the module. The first shots of the Schiaparelli module will be shown at a press conference on October 20 at 11 am Moscow time (08:00 GMT).
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