ExoMars Arrives at Mars
- 12th Oct 2016
- Author: Nahid Chowdhury
Europe is going back to Mars. Following in the footsteps of Mars Express, the European Space Agency’s latest mission is ExoMars (Exobiology on Mars), an exciting astrobiology mission that will search for signs of life on Mars.
As the first phase of ExoMars prepares to arrive at the Red Planet next week, we look ahead to the key events and science goals of this mission.
To meet the Leicester team involved and get the latest updates ExoMars, join us on 20 October 2016 for our Leicester@Mars day.
Since the advent of the sci-fi genre more than a hundred years ago, we have had a quaint obsession with whether Mars is inhabited by ‘Little Red Men’.
Unmanned Mars missions over the last 50 years have revealed this not to be the case. But the scientific scene has now moved on to searching for possible microscopic life forms and establishing whether life may have once existed on Mars.
ExoMars is an unmanned robotic mission and a joint venture by the European Space Agency and the Russian Federal Space Agency. It contains three key parts. There is the Trace Gas Orbiter (TGO) – a satellite that will orbit above Mars at 400 kilometres; the Schiaparelli EDM (Entry, Descent and Landing Demonstrator Module) Lander – designed to test ESA’s landing capabilities for future missions; and the ExoMars rover, which is currently in development and due for launch in July 2020.
This rover will be the first European rover on Mars and will scan the Martian soil for signs of biomarkers for life. An onboard drill will be able to drill up to two metres into the soil, far deeper than any previous Mars rover. These pristine soil samples will be examined by a key instrument currently being developed by scientists at the University of Leicester, just down the road from the National Space Centre. Known as a Raman Spectrometer, this instrument will scan soil samples to determine their mineral content and search for any organics that might be associated with life.
ExoMars’ first two stages – the Orbiter and Schiaparelli Lander – launched in March 2016 and will reach Mars on 19 October 2016. By this point, Schiaparelli will already have separated from the Orbiter and will land on the surface of Mars at 15:37 BST.
The Orbiter will remain in orbit around Mars to begin mapping the Martian atmosphere.
Searching for Methane
There is a lot of hope that the ExoMars Orbiter will reveal new things about Mars. Earth-based telescopes and ESA’s Mars Express have revealed small amounts of methane in the Martian atmosphere and one of the key aims of ExoMars is to further explore methane on Mars.
Methane is released by biological processes when living organisms digest nutrients, and by studying the nature of methane on Mars, we can start to determine whether the source of methane on Mars is due to microscopic life. But it’s also possible that the methane on Mars is released by certain geological processes, such as when a mineral is oxidised. ExoMars will help solve the puzzle.
The Orbiter will also monitor seasonal changes in the Martian atmosphere’s content and temperature to create atmospheric models, similar to what we do on Earth.
ExoMars will help us learn more about the history of microscopic Martian life and plan for future missions to Mars.
Many people look forward to the first humans on Mars, but it’s the unmanned exploration missions like ExoMars that first need to pave the way.
To meet the Leicester team involved and get the latest updates on the ExoMars landing, join us on 20 October 2016 for our Leicester@Mars day.
About the Author: Nahid Chowdhury is a current physics student at the University of Leicester and worked as a Science Interpreter at the National Space Centre during Summer 2016.
