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ESA ExoMars program: The next step in exploring Mars

Witasse, O.; Svedhem, H.; McCoy, D. +6 more

The ExoMars program is an ESA-Roscosmos cooperation with some NASA contributions. ExoMars consists of two missions, one in 2016 and one in 2018. The 2016 mission includes an orbiting satellite dedicated to the study of atmospheric trace gases to acquire information on possible on-going geological or biological processes, and a European entry, desc…

Science objectives and performances of NOMAD, a spectrometer suite for the ExoMars TGO mission

Aoki, S.; Vandaele, A. C.; Daerden, F. +49 more

The NOMAD spectrometer suite on the ExoMars Trace Gas Orbiter will map the composition and distribution of Mars' atmospheric trace species in unprecedented detail, fulfilling many of the scientific objectives of the joint ESA-Roscosmos ExoMars Trace Gas Orbiter mission. The instrument is a combination of three channels, covering a spectral range f…

NOMAD spectrometer on the ExoMars trace gas orbiter mission: part 1—design, manufacturing and testing of the infrared channels

Vandaele, Ann Carine; Neefs, Eddy; Daerden, Frank +46 more

The SCITEAS experiment: Optical characterizations of sublimating icy planetary analogues

Thomas, N.; El-Maarry, M. R.; Pommerol, A. +3 more

We have designed and built a laboratory facility to investigate the spectro-photometric and morphologic properties of different types of ice-bearing planetary surface analogs and follow their evolution upon exposure to a low pressure and low temperature environment. The results obtained with this experiment are used to verify and improve our inter…

ACS experiment for atmospheric studies on "ExoMars-2016" Orbiter

Montmessin, F.; Fedorova, A. A.; Shakun, A. V. +6 more

ACS is a set of spectrometers for atmospheric studies (Atmospheric Chemistry Suite). It is one of the Russian instruments for the Trace Gas Orbiter (TGO) of the Russian-European "ExoMars" program. The purpose of the experiment is to study the Martian atmosphere by means of two observations regimes: sensitive trace gases measurements in solar occul…

Prediction of blue, red and green aurorae at Mars

Simon Wedlund, C.; Gronoff, G.; Lilensten, J. +3 more

The upper atmosphere of Mars is a laboratory for better understanding the planetary atmosphere evolution, and is an example of the interaction of the solar wind with an unmagnetized planet that has only patches of crustal magnetic field. In that context, several space missions were launched to study the Martian environment and its aurorae, notably…

ExoMars 2016, Orbiter module bus a GNC development update

Kutrowski, N.; Renault, H.; Sergent, N. +3 more

ExoMars programme is part of a cooperation between ESA and Roscosmos. It foresees two missions to Mars that aim to searching for signs of past and present life on Mars, investigating the Martian atmosphere and surface and demonstrating the technologies needed to land on Mars and perform robotic exploration. The first spacecraft launched in early 2…

New temperature and pressure retrieval algorithm for high-resolution infrared solar occultation spectroscopy: analysis and validation against ACE-FTS and COSMIC

Olsen, K. S.; Toon, G. C.; Boone, C. D. +1 more

Motivated by the initial selection of a high-resolution solar occultation Fourier transform spectrometer (FTS) to fly to Mars on the ExoMars Trace Gas Orbiter, we have been developing algorithms for retrieving volume mixing ratio vertical profiles of trace gases, the primary component of which is a new algorithm and software for retrieving vertica…