Mars Trace Gas Mission
Artist's illustration of ExoMars 2016
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| Mission type | Mars orbiter | ||||||||||
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| Operator | ESA · Roscosmos | ||||||||||
| COSPAR ID | 2016-017A | ||||||||||
| SATCAT no. | 41388 | ||||||||||
| Website | http://exploration.esa.int/jump.cfm?oid=46475 | ||||||||||
| Mission duration | Planned: 7 years Elapsed: 1 year, 24 days |
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| Spacecraft properties | |||||||||||
| Manufacturer | Thales Alenia Space | ||||||||||
| Launch mass | 3,755 kg (8,278 lb) | ||||||||||
| Payload mass | Instruments: 113.8 kg (251 lb) Schiaparelli: 577 kg (1,272 lb) |
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| Dimensions | 3.2 × 2 × 2 m (10.5 × 6.6 × 6.6 ft) | ||||||||||
| Power | ~2000 W | ||||||||||
| Start of mission | |||||||||||
| Launch date | 14 March 2016, 09:31 UTC | ||||||||||
| Rocket | Proton-M/Briz-M | ||||||||||
| Launch site | Baikonur 200/39 | ||||||||||
| Contractor | Khrunichev | ||||||||||
| Orbital parameters | |||||||||||
| Reference system | Areocentric | ||||||||||
| Regime | Circular | ||||||||||
| Eccentricity | 0 | ||||||||||
| Periareion | 400 km (250 mi) | ||||||||||
| Apoareion | 400 km (250 mi) | ||||||||||
| Inclination | 74 degrees | ||||||||||
| Period | 2 hours | ||||||||||
| Epoch | planned | ||||||||||
| Mars orbiter | |||||||||||
| Orbital insertion | 19 October 2016, 15:24 UTC | ||||||||||
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ExoMars programme
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| Instruments | |
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| NOMAD | Nadir and Occultation for Mars Discovery |
| ACS | Atmospheric Chemistry Suite |
| CaSSIS | Colour and Stereo Surface Imaging System |
| FREND | Fine-Resolution Epithermal Neutron Detector |
ESA mission insignia for the ExoMars 2016 launch, featuring the Trace Gas Orbiter (left) and Schiaparelli (right).
The ExoMars Trace Gas Orbiter (TGO) is a collaborative project between the European Space Agency (ESA) and Roscosmos that sent an atmospheric research orbiter and the Schiaparelli demonstration lander to Mars in 2016 as part of the European-led ExoMars programme.
The Trace Gas Orbiter delivered the Schiaparelli lander and will start atmospheric mapping in 2017. A key goal is to gain a better understanding of methane (CH
4) and other trace gases present in the Martian atmosphere that could be evidence for possible biological activity. The programme will follow with the Surface Science Platform and the ExoMars rover in 2020, which will search for biomolecules and biosignatures; the TGO will operate as the communication link for the 2020 ExoMars rover and surface science platform and provide communication for other Mars surface probes with Earth. The lander's radio signal was lost during the descent through the Mars atmosphere and later the lander was confirmed to have crashed.
Investigations with space and Earth-based observatories have demonstrated the presence of a small amount of methane on the atmosphere of Mars that seems to vary with location and time. This may indicate the presence of microbial life on Mars, or a geochemical process such as volcanism or hydrothermal activity.
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