Keep the shuttle flying: Fwd: Russian, EU Space Agencies Propose to Delay Joint Mission to Mars

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From: "Gary Johnson" <gjohnson144@comcast.net>
Date: September 18, 2015 at 8:37:04 PM CDT
To: "Gary Johnson" <gjohnson144@comcast.net>
Subject: FW: Russian, EU Space Agencies Propose to Delay Joint Mission to Mars

News Roscosmos
Roskosmos and ESA. TRANSFER START MISSION EXOMARS-2016 to March next year
09/18/2015 20:56
Roskosmos and the European Space Agency (ESA) is recommended to move the start of the mission ExoMars-2016 from January to March next year due to the need to replace equipment at the demonstration descent module ESA - Schiaparelli (Schiaparelli).

ESA specialists have identified problems with the sensors in the fuel supply pipelines demonstration lander. For successful implementation of the mission ExoMars-2016, the two sides decided to hold additional checks ESA mission and recommended equipment to move the launch of the next "trigger window" - March 2016.

The final decision on the launch date will take Governing Council mission ExoMars Roscosmos and ESA in the Dutch town of Noordwijk, which will be held September 24, 2015.

ExoMars Mission 2016 envisages sending to Mars orbiter and landing demonstration module. As a carrier rocket will be used Russian rocket "Proton-M" with the upper stage "Breeze-M". Orbiting platforms and demo module produces ESA. Orbital module is designed for the study of atmospheric trace gases and the distribution of water ice in the soil of Mars. Demonstration landing module is designed to work out the necessary technology reentry, descent and landing and scientific instruments. Orbital module enables data relay module for the demonstration landing mission in 2016 and the landing module and a rover mission in 2018.

ESA
ExoMars 2016 targets March launch window

Schiaparelli separating from Trace Gas Orbiter
18 September 2015
A problem recently discovered in two sensors in the propulsion system of the entry, descent and landing demonstrator module has prompted the recommendation to move the launch of the ExoMars 2016 mission, initially foreseen in January, to March, still within the launch window of early 2016.
ExoMars is a joint endeavour between ESA and Russia's Roscosmos space agency. The recommendation was made in full coordination between the two agencies and will be finally endorsed by a joint steering board on 24 September.
The Schiaparelli module will prove key technologies to demonstrate Europe's capability to make a controlled landing on Mars.
The 600 kg Schiaparelli will ride to Mars on the Trace Gas Orbiter, which will subsequently enter orbit around the Red Planet to begin its five-year mission of studying atmospheric gases potentially linked to present-day biological or geological activity.
Schiaparelli will separate from the orbiter three days before they reach Mars, entering the atmosphere at 21 000 km/h. Following aerobraking in the upper atmosphere and a parachute phase, a liquid-propellant thruster system will brake the module to less than 5 km/h at a height of about 2 m above the surface.
At that moment, the thrusters will be switched off and the lander will drop to the ground, where the impact will be cushioned by a crushable structure built into the module.
Less than eight minutes will elapse between the moment when Schiaparelli enters the atmosphere to its landing on Mars in a region known as Meridiani Planum.
However, a defect was recently found in two pressure transducers mounted in the propulsion system.
"A failure in the production process of the pressure transducers has been identified and this leads to concerns about leakage, which represents a major risk to a successful landing on Mars," says Don McCoy, ESA ExoMars Project Manager.
"ESA has decided not to accept this risk and to remove both units from the landing module, the knock-on effect being that we can no longer maintain the January 2016 launch window and will instead move to the back-up launch window in March.
"We are pleased to have identified the issue in good time, and are focusing all our efforts to launch on 14 March."
The sensors are not part of the control loop necessary for landing, but would rather have gathered ancillary data for monitoring the system. In order to meet the new launch window, the decision was made to remove the parts, rather than replace them.
The later window is open 14–25 March and, thanks to the relative orbital positions of Earth and Mars, the mission will still arrive at Mars in October, just as if launched in January.
A set of scientific sensors on Schiaparelli will collect data on the atmosphere during the entry and descent, and its instruments will perform local environment measurements at the landing site.
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However, because Schiaparelli is primarily aimed at demonstrating technologies needed for landing in preparation for future missions, the scientific phase is limited: the module is planned to operate on the surface for only a short time, powered by batteries.
Schiaparelli will remain a target for future laser ranging studies, as it carries a reflector designed for this purpose.
The Trace Gas Orbiter, along with other ESA and NASA missions already orbiting Mars, will provide communications support from Schiaparelli during descent and on the surface, relaying the data back to Earth.
Subsequently, the orbiter will begin its programme of extensive scientific observations, while also acting as a data relay for future missions. These include ExoMars 2018, which will see a rover and an instrumented platform on the surface.
Both ExoMars missions will be launched on Russian Proton rockets from Baikonur in Kazakhstan.

For further information, please contact:
Markus Bauer
ESA Science and Robotic Exploration Communication Office
Tel: +31 71 565 6799
Mob: +31 61 594 3 954
Email: Markus.Bauer@esa.int
Rolf de Groot
ESA Coordinator for Robotic Exploration
Email: Rolf.de.Groot@esa.int

Launch of Russia-EU Space Probe to Mars Will Be Posponed
Sputnik 18:09 18.09.2015(updated 18:59 18.09.2015)

MOSCOW (Sputnik) — The launch of a Russian Proton space rocket carrying the ExoMars-1 orbiter from the Baikonur space center in Kazakhstan was originally scheduled for January 7, 2016.
According to the source, an official confirmation of the delay is expected to be announced shortly.
"The launch will be postponed due to two technical issues, which are not in the scope of Russia's responsibility," the source said.
"There's nothing alarming in the delay as the 'launch window' allows us to carry out the launch on March 14 and deliver the spacecraft to Mars, with the help of Proton, on time," the source stressed.
In 2012, the European Space Agency and the Russian Federal Space Agency Roscosmos agreed to develop the so-called ExoMars program, with the objective of investigating the environment on Mars and finding out whether life has ever existed on the planet.
As published on the European Space Agency's website, two missions are planned within the ExoMars program for 2016-2018. In 2016, the ExoMars project will launch an orbital probe to Mars, followed by a landing on the Martian surface by a lander module. In 2018, a Mars rover probe is expected to explore the surface of the planet.
After the European Union introduced sanctions against Russia over its alleged role in the Ukrainian internal crisis, concerns mounted that Europe-Russia collaboration on Mars exploration could be hampered.

Russian, EU Space Agencies Propose to Delay Joint Mission to Mars
Sputnik 21:28 18.09.2015(updated 22:39 18.09.2015)
MOSCOW (Sputnik) — Roscosmos and the European Space Agency (ESA) propose to postpone the launch of a space orbiter to Mars under a joint Russia-EU research program until March 14, 2016, citing technical reasons, Russia's Federal Space Agency said Friday.
"Roscosmos and ESA recommend to postpone the ExoMars-1 mission from January to March next year due to the need to replace equipment on the Schiaparelli Mars landing demonstration craft," Roscosmos said in a statement.
According to the statement, specialists have discovered problems with the fuel supply sensors in the pipelines of the demonstration landing craft, and the sides agreed to carry out an additional inspection of the mission equipment.
ExoMars mission managing board is expected to announce the exact date of the launch on September 24.
Overall, Roscosmos and ESA have agreed to launch two ExoMars missions scheduled for 2016 and 2018.
In 2016, it is planned to launch the orbiter, the main goal of which is to study the planet's atmosphere and to conduct data exchange with a rover. The rover itself is scheduled to be sent to Mars in 2018, which will be the main part of the program.

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