The Unmanned Orbiter Is Scheduled For Launch In 2016
NASA and the European Space Agency (ESA) have embarked on a
joint program to explore Mars in the coming decades and selected
the five science instruments for the first mission.
The ExoMars Trace Gas Orbiter, scheduled to launch in 2016, is
the first of three joint robotic missions to the Red Planet. It
will study the chemical makeup of the Martian atmosphere with a
1000-fold increase in sensitivity over previous Mars orbiters. The
mission will focus on trace gases, including methane, which could
be potentially geochemical or biological in origin and be
indicators for the existence of life on Mars. The mission also will
serve as an additional communications relay for Mars surface
missions beginning in 2018.
"Independently, NASA and ESA have made amazing discoveries up to
this point," said Ed Weiler, associate administrator of NASA's
Science Mission Directorate in Washington. "Working together, we'll
reduce duplication of effort, expand our capabilities and see
results neither ever could have achieved alone."
NASA and ESA invited scientists worldwide to propose the
spacecraft's instruments. The five selected were from 19 proposals
submitted in January. Both agencies evaluated the submissions and
chose those with the best science value and lowest risk. The
selection of the instruments begins the first phase of the new
NASA-ESA alliance for future ventures to Mars. The instruments and
the principal investigators are:
- Mars Atmosphere Trace Molecule Occultation Spectrometer -- A
spectrometer designed to detect very low concentrations of the
molecular components of the Martian atmosphere: Paul Wennberg,
California Institute of Technology, Pasadena CA.
- High Resolution Solar Occultation and Nadir Spectrometer -- A
spectrometer designed to detect traces of the components of the
Martian atmosphere and to map where they are on the surface: Ann C.
Vandaele, Belgian Institute for Space Aeronomy, Brussels,
Belgium.
- ExoMars Climate Sounder -- An infrared radiometer that provides
daily global data on dust, water vapor and other materials to
provide the context for data analysis from the spectrometers: John
Schofield, NASA's Jet Propulsion Laboratory (JPL), Pasadena,
CA.
- High Resolution Color Stereo Imager -- A camera that provides
four-color stereo imaging at a resolution of two million pixels
over an 8.5 km swath: Alfred McEwen, University of Arizona.
- Mars Atmospheric Global Imaging Experiment -- A wide-angle,
multi-spectral camera to provide global images of Mars in support
of the other instruments: Bruce Cantor, Malin Space Science
Systems, San Diego, CA.
The science teams on all the instruments have broad
international participation from Europe and the United States, with
important hardware contributions from Canada and Switzerland.
"To fully explore Mars, we want to marshal all the talents we
can on Earth," said David Southwood, ESA director for Science and
Robotic Exploration. "Now NASA and ESA are combining forces for the
joint ExoMars Trace Gas Orbiter mission. Mapping methane allows us
to investigate further that most important of questions: Is Mars a
living planet, and if not, can or will it become so in the
future?"
NASA and ESA share a common interest in conducting robotic
missions to the Red Planet for scientific purposes and to prepare
for possible human visits. After a series of extensive discussions,
the science heads of both agencies agreed on a plan of cooperation
during a July 2009 meeting in Plymouth, England, later confirmed by
ESA Director General Jean-Jacques Dordain and NASA Administrator
Charles Bolden in a statement of intent that was signed in
November.
ExoMars Orbiter Artist's Rendering
The plan consists of two Mars cooperative missions in 2016 and
2018, and a later joint sample return mission. The 2016 mission
features the European-built ExoMars Trace Gas Orbiter, a
European-built small lander demonstrator, a primarily-U.S.
international science payload, and NASA-provided launch vehicle and
communications components. ESA member states will provide
additional instrument support.
The 2018 mission consists of a European rover with a drilling
capability, a NASA rover capable of caching selected samples for
potential future return to Earth, a NASA landing system, and a NASA
launch vehicle. These activities are designed to serve as the
foundation of a cooperative program to increase science returns and
move the agencies toward a joint Mars sample return mission in the
2020s.
NASA's Mars Exploration Program seeks to characterize and
understand Mars as a dynamic system, including its present and past
environment, climate cycles, geology and potential for life. JPL
manages the program and development of the NASA-supplied
instruments for the 2016 orbiter for NASA's Science Mission
Directorate in Washington.