ExoMars 2016/2020 Data and Analysis (updates)

[Draggendrop Veteran]

There is a chance that Opportunity may get a small image of the lander on descent, but it appears only if it lands long in the targeted area.

 

Looking for Schiaparelli At Wharton Ridge

 

South Side of Wharton Ridge     credit JIM RICE/ASU

 

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On Wednesday 19 October the ExoMars Schiaparelli module will land on Mars at 10:48 am EDT. There is a chance that Opportunity may see it on the horizon as it descends.

 

If Schiaparelli lands in the middle of its projected landing site in Meridiani Planum then Opportunity would not be able to see it on the horizon. But if Schiaparelli goes a little "long" there is a chance that Opportunity might catch it in an image.

 

Jim Rice, a science team member on the Mars Exploration Rover Project at Arizona State University, targeted two frames of the south side of Wharton Ridge. If Schiaparelli goes long this is the area where Opportunity might be able to see it. It won't be large - perhaps only a pixel or two.

 

The name of this location on the rim of Endeavour crater was initially announced a week or so ago. "Wharton Ridge" is named after Robert A. Wharton (Bob). Bob was an astrobiologist before the word had even been coined. He was an adventurer and a jack of all trades. Among other things, he spent a lot of time diving under Antarctic ice and roaming the dry valleys of Antarctica.

http://spaceref.com/mars/looking-for-schiaparelli-at-wharton-ridge.html

 

 

 

 

 

[anthdci]

Am I the only one thinking this has failed? Too many worried faces and people pacing round.

[Draggendrop Veteran]

 

 

 

 

They have had 2 signal changes as per above tweets for parachute , heat shield and parachute drop. Will take awhile for confirmation from either orbiter.

 

Fingers crossed.

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16:50 CEST: Signals from Mars take 9 minutes 47 seconds to reach Earth today, so the teams are waiting for the first indications that the entry, descent and landing events actually happened at Mars. It may take some hours to get official confirmation that Schiaparelli has landed on the Red Planet. Stay tuned.

 

16:48 CEST: According to nominal timeline, the Exomars Schiaparelli entry, descent, and landing demonstrator module should now switch off its thrusters to avoid touching the surface with the heat plumes from the thrusters, or hitting a rock on the surface while the engines are still on. After switching off the thrusters, Schiaparelli should proceed to touchdown on the surface of Mars.

 

16:47 CEST: According to nominal timeline, Schiaparelli should be jettisoning its parachute & back shell, then igniting thrusters.

 

16:46 CEST: According to nominal timeline, the front shield of the heat shield protecting Schiaparelli should now be jettisoned.

 

16:45 CEST: According to nominal timeline, the Exomars Schiaparelli entry, descent, and landing demonstrator module should now be deploying its parachute.

 

16:43 CEST: According to nominal timeline, the Exomars Schiaparelli entry, descent, and landing demonstrator module should now be undergoing maximum heating.

 

16:42 CEST: According to nominal timeline, the Exomars Schiaparelli entry, descent, and landing demonstrator module should be entering the atmosphere of Mars now.

 

16:17 CEST: ExoMars Flight Director Michel Denis confirms that the signal from the Schiaparelli entry, descent and landing demonstrator module is coming through strong and clear as it falls gently towards Mars via the Giant Metrewave Radio Telescope (GMRT) near Pune, India.

 

15:43 CEST: Confirmation received that the Schiaparelli entry, descent and landing demonstrator module has woken up, as expected, ahead of attempting to land on Mars in about an hour. The confirmation arrived via a very faint signal received by the Giant Metrewave Radio Telescope (GMRT) near Pune, India.

http://www.esa.int/Our_Activities/Space_Science/ExoMars/Live_updates_ExoMars_arrival_and_landing

 

 

 

 

 

 

[Draggendrop Veteran]

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17: 12 CEST: End of planned Schiaparelli transmission. Initial signals were received via the Giant Metrewave Radio Telescope (GMRT) as Schiaparelli descended to the surface of Mars, but no signal of touchdown yet. This is not unexpected due to the very faint nature of the signal received at GMRT. A clearer assessment of the situation will come when ESA's Mars Express will have relayed the recording of Schiaparelli's entry, descent and landing.

http://www.esa.int/Our_Activities/Space_Science/ExoMars/Live_updates_ExoMars_arrival_and_landing

 

Mars Express and the TGO (in 1 hour) will be able to pick up the UHF lander signal.

 

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We'll know in about an hour, TGO is on signal blind side, will orbit into comm sight soon.....TGO has ability for full telemetry transmission.

 

Break time for an hour......

[DocM]

 

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[Draggendrop Veteran]

I just put on my happy face and crossed my fingers....

 

 

 

[DocM]

@tsrandall @kona404 Interpretation of the @ESA_EDM recording is quite complex - could take more than 30 minutes #ExoMars

 

They may have to wait an hour for MRO to get into position.

[Draggendrop Veteran]

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

The TGO, when in comm sight, will give the most accurate account....

 

Edit...ninja'd by Doc

[Draggendrop Veteran]

 

Forgot about that, we have a 3 fold data chance....love these orbiters....

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DSN link

[Draggendrop Veteran]

 

 

 

 

The TGO has telemetry in the carrier, should know when data analysed...and looks good for another orbiter...that will be also confirmed after orbital analysis.

 

2 stations, 2 craft, 8 people, new orbiter and possible lander.....

[Draggendrop Veteran]

 

It's not official yet, but the TGO data looks good, meaning we have an orbiter.

 

The TGO is the big ticket item and it's data will be extremely valuable to SpaceX...ref methane analysis.

 

The lander is a demonstrator for future projects, which in itself can also be alleviated by Red Dragon payloads.

 

Fingers still crossed for lander. The batteries are good for several hours, enough time to retrieve the atmospheric data and landing images.

 

We should know later, that if the lander was long on the landing area, Opportunity may have got an image or two.

 

 

 

 

[DocM]

 

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There is still no word on the fate of the European Space Agency's Mars lander, Schiaparelli.

 

The robot was supposed to have touched down on the Red Planet at 1458 GMT (1558 BST), but radio contact was lost in the minute before this time.

 

It was hoped that a satellite at Mars might have tracked the full descent, but it was unable to add any further insight.

 

This will likely stoke fears that Schiaparelli has been lost.

 

http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/science-environment-37707776

[DocM]

 

@ESA_EDM recording from #MarsExpress is inconclusive - not clear yet what the status of the lander is #ExoMars

Next opportunity to hear from @ESA_EDM will be the relay pass with @NASAJPL's MRO spacecraft - should come in the next hour or two #ExoMars

[Draggendrop Veteran]

 

 

 

 

This is going to be tight on the lander batteries, if it made it intact.

 

edit...ninja'd again...

[DocM]

 

Dr. Wöhrl is a physicist at the Center of Nanointegration (CENIDE) at the University of Duisburg-Essen