European Space Agency ExoMars Arrival at Mars
On Oct. 19, 2016, the European Space Agency’s ExoMars mission arrived at Mars, bringing an orbiter to the red planet while its landing module crashed during descent, Space reported. The mission’s dual components, the Trace Gas Orbiter and the Schiaparelli lander, traveled through space together before separating on Oct. 16, just three days prior to orbital insertion and touchdown. The ExoMars 2016 campaign was designed as the vanguard of a two-flight program launched in March 2016 in partnership with Russia. Its dual objectives involved testing crucial landing technology via the Schiaparelli lander for a future rover while placing the Trace Gas Orbiter into Martian orbit to study atmospheric gases and support communications. European Space Agency officials ultimately characterized the mission as 96% successful due to the loss of the lander. Contact with the Schiaparelli lander ceased just one minute before its planned touchdown. Photos captured by NASA’s Mars Reconnaissance Orbiter subsequently identified the impact site along with the nearby jettisoned parachute. Investigators suspect a data glitch prevented the lander from firing its descent thrusters properly to slow its momentum. Meanwhile, the Trace Gas Orbiter remains functional, scanning the Martian atmosphere for methane and other gases that could be evidence for possible biological activity.
Delayed Rosalind Franklin Rover Launch Timeline
The failure of the Schiaparelli lander prompted adjustments to the broader ExoMars timeline, pushing back subsequent exploration milestones. Further schedule disruptions occurred when the European Space Agency severed its partnership with Russia following that country’s invasion of Ukraine, resulting in the loss of the planned Russian Proton launch vehicle for the Rosalind Franklin rover.
The ExoMars rover mission is now scheduled to launch no earlier than 2028, with a planned Martian landing slated for 2030. Concurrently, other space agencies continue targeting the Martian system, as demonstrated by the Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency and its Martian Moons eXploration mission designed to land a probe on Phobos and return samples to Earth.
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