Mars 2016: New Unmanned Mission


Recommended Posts

America and Europe have come together with one motto in mind -- Mars or Bust: 2016.

On the intergalactic road trip, the latest collaboration between the European Space Administration (ESA) and NASA, the space agencies will send an orbiter and a descent and landing module to brave the red planet's harsh dust storms in 2016 and then again in 2018.

They'll study the atmosphere and conditions on the planet, hunt for signs of life -- and possibly return Martian samples to Earth.

Called the ExoMars Trace Gas Orbiter mission, the venture came to fruition when both ESA and NASA realized that neither had the resources needed to go it alone. The result, the Joint Mars Exploration Program, was formed.

Though the mission is unmanned, it is designed to demonstrate two fundamental components that could aid in future Mars exploration. The Trace Gas Orbiter that will fly to the red planet will study atmospheric trace gases for biological or geological activity. And the the Entry, Descent, and Landing Demonstrator Module (or EDM) will demonstrate the best possible way to land on the red planet.

?On the Martian surface, the EDM will behave as an environmental station for a few days,? Jorge Vago, one of the scientists behind the ExoMars mission, told FoxNews.com. ?It will measure wind speed and direction, pressure, temperature, humidity and atmospheric electrification.?

But the skies for the EDM won?t exactly be ideal for landing. The researchers behind the project specifically chose to land the module in 2016 during Mars?s dust storm season, making it the first vehicle of its kind to land during such harsh conditions.

h_exomars_rover_02.jpg

more

Link to comment
Share on other sites

France & the UK are not so sure it's affordable....

http://www.spacenews.com/civil/110624-france-britain-reluctant-exomars.html

LE BOURGET, France ? Europe?s plan to join the United States in a two-launch Mars exploration effort in 2016 and 2018 is being thrown into question by concerns raised by France and Britain that the mission has assumed too many risks, European government and industry officials said.

A meeting European Space Agency (ESA) governments set for June 29-30, as well as a possible side conference before that among the four nations paying the biggest share of what Europe calls its ExoMars mission ? Italy, Britain, France and Germany ? will be the next indication of whether ExoMars is going through a temporary crisis or something more serious.

With what appear to be different motivations, France and Britain have informed ESA that the 2018 mission carrying a jointly developed NASA-ESA Mars rover faces too many doubts to enable them to approve the overall ExoMars project. At ESA, ExoMars? planned 2016 launch of a Mars orbiter and demonstration lander and the 2018 mission are a single package.

ESA has set a cost ceiling of 1 billion euros ($1.4 billion) for the whole ExoMars mission and has been able to raise only 850 million euros, but this shortfall is not ExoMars? immediate difficulty.

More serious is the fact that Britain and France, which have agreed to finance 20 percent and 15 percent of ExoMars, respectively, are unsure they can support the project as it stands now because of the doubts they have about the 2018 mission.

At a May 26-27 meeting of the program board for exploration that oversees ExoMars, Britain abstained from voting on a measure to move the mission to ESA?s Industrial Policy Committee for final financial go-ahead. France opposed the measure, which was nonetheless approved.

The Industrial Policy Committee is scheduled to meet June 29-30 to decide whether to accept ESA managers? argument that the 2016 Mars orbiter, which is indispensable for the 2018 mission because it will relay telecommunications from the rover to Earth, must be placed under contract by July 1.

>

Link to comment
Share on other sites

stop being a negatory, Doc, that's not like you...

thanks for posting this Hum, this is a very cool mission and will complement Curiosity quite well. i think it may be over ruled by an affordable manned mission should all the Curiosity data prove sufficiently "safe" and reasonable. i still think we're on track for a manned mission by 2020. this will likely involve multiple space agencies, likely also Russia, China and India.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

If China and the United States aren't too busy one-upping each other, they should really combine in these sort of things. Is all well collaborating on a few orbital based stuff, but this sort of stuff may impact humanity as a whole in some way.

China have the financial might and ambition whilst the United States have the most experience and know how. Throw in the Russians to the mix as well.

Ok, I'm finished being naive. But this is cool, and it is good they are actually looking at the practical aspect of landing the machine in stormy conditions to prepare for the unpredictable. I have a thing for space exploration, don't know if is Star Wars/Trek driven, but as a wannabe scientist, is one thing that perhaps is truly impossible for humanity to grasp, and certainly in my life time. The question of what is out there.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

you're not being naive, this is the way it's going to play out. there's no way one country can take on space exploration by itself. Joint missions and an ever increasing corporate presence in space are the future. and that future is coming very soon, i.e this decade.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

If China and the United States aren't too busy one-upping each other, they should really combine in these sort of things. Is all well collaborating on a few orbital based stuff, but this sort of stuff may impact humanity as a whole in some way.

China have the financial might and ambition whilst the United States have the most experience and know how.

>

China's space agency has already said they can't match the $$/kg launch costs of SpaceX, especially their upcoming Falcon Heavy. Their statement was really quite interesting in that it showed considerable consternation over it. Very similar to the reaction of Europe's ArianeSpace.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

On the intergalactic road trip, the latest collaboration between the European Space Administration (ESA) and NASA

Mars has moved to another galaxy now? Also, ESA stands for European Space Agency, not European Space Administration.

Poorly written article. Damn.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

well, i think they mean Mars is one step on the path to intergalactic exploration...but yeah, the ESA is something else...i get it confused with Admin, too, sometimes.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

yet another unmanned, rover like venture....... these are starting to get a little old.. sure the science is great, but lets move to the next best thing, any other type of robots we could put there?

Link to comment
Share on other sites

too true, too true! we could have been there decades ago if we had a global space agency with proper resources.

Griffin - don't forget the rovers haven't really covered that much of Mars, and no one expects them to before sending humans. the robots would simply take too long, that's what the orbiters are for. Curiosity will also rove around for a couple of years, after which i'm assuming the manned missions will start. so in a way the next step in robotic missions will be the ones that are sent ahead of humans, i.e the sebatier reactors, return vehicles, habs, etc.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

intergalactic (??nt????l?kt?k)

? adj

of, relating to, or existing between two or more galaxies:

Yes, I think it will be a while before we travel to another galaxy. ;)

Link to comment
Share on other sites

There is no atmosphere on Mars to support life as it currently is so why waste the time and money exploring it when we are already in need of innovation and ideas that could take those funds here to save what atmosphere we have left.

We just don't have our priorities in line for some reason.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

There is no atmosphere on Mars to support life as it currently is so why waste the time and money exploring it when we are already in need of innovation and ideas that could take those funds here to save what atmosphere we have left.

We just don't have our priorities in line for some reason.

Yeah because we are in such danger of losing "what's left" of our atmosphere... And what do you propose we do with the little funds that are available in the space program?

For example: There is billions of dollars thrown into cancer research every year and very little progress is made, so the money has almost nothing to do with fixing the "problems" on Earth.

What you don't seem to understand is the immense amount of innovation that's come from the space programs. Those electronics sitting in front of you may not be there right now if the space programs were non-existent. If you want to see innovation, we should be pumping much much more money into these programs instead of pointless wars. You are right about the priorities being wrong, but you are referring to them in the wrong way.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

What you don't seem to understand is the immense amount of innovation that's come from the space programs. Those electronics sitting in front of you may not be there right now if the space programs were non-existent. If you want to see innovation, we should be pumping much much more money into these programs instead of pointless wars. You are right about the priorities being wrong, but you are referring to them in the wrong way.

Not a very good point... the same amount of innovation, if not more, comes from the technological advancements that result because of war.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

What you don't seem to understand is the immense amount of innovation that's come from the space programs.

The Z1 originally created by Germany's Konrad Zuse in his parents living room in 1936 to 1938 is considered to be the first electrical binary programmable computer.

The Invention of the First Transistor, November 17-December 23, 1947

NASA was established by the National Aeronautics and Space Act on July 29, 1958. ;)

Link to comment
Share on other sites

But NACA was founded in 1915 and its assets, personnel and programs became NASA but with an expanded charter. This as a result of a report by HughDryden (Director of NACA) on January 14, 1958; A National Research Program for Space Technology. The President's Science Advisory Committee then convinced Eisenhower to make the change.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

stop being a negatory, Doc, that's not like you...

thanks for posting this Hum, this is a very cool mission and will complement Curiosity quite well. i think it may be over ruled by an affordable manned mission should all the Curiosity data prove sufficiently "safe" and reasonable. i still think we're on track for a manned mission by 2020. this will likely involve multiple space agencies, likely also Russia, China and India.

Cost of US wars since 9/11? $3.7 trillion, academics say

http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/43573008/ns/world_news-south_and_central_asia/

Well, there is your Manned Mission to Mars money, neo :ermm:

Link to comment
Share on other sites

And Obamacare will waste that much in 2 years, not 10, while making health care more expensive, harder to get and costing more than the 6,000 soldiers lives we've lost in the wars.

Just a bit of perspective....

Link to comment
Share on other sites

oh you're preaching to the choir Hum, for that kind of money we could have colonized half the solar system by now.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

This topic is now closed to further replies.
  • Recently Browsing   0 members

    • No registered users viewing this page.