Tag: European Space Agency
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Soyuz crew launcher rolled out for liftoff from Kazakhstan
The Soyuz booster that will send the International Space Station’s next three residents into orbit later this week rolled out of an integration hangar early Monday and rode a railroad car to its launch pad at the Baikonur Cosmodrome in Kazakhstan. The rocket will lift off at 2020 GMT (3:20 p.m. EST) Thursday from Baikonur,…
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Galileo navigation satellites mounted atop Ariane 5 for launch next week
The Ariane 5’s payload fairing (top) is lowered over the four Galileo satellites already fastened to their carrier module on the Ariane 5 upper stage. Credit: ESA/CNES/Arianespace – Photo Optique Video du CSG – JM Guillon An Ariane 5 launcher uniquely modified to loft four of Europe’s Galileo navigation satellites on one flight has received…
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Mars orbital image shows Schiaparelli lander’s crash site in inglorious color
Blackened streaks and bright bits of debris can be seen in this image of the crash zone for the European Space Agency’s Schiaparelli lander. (Credit: NASA / JPL-Caltech / University of Arizona) High-resolution color images from NASA’s Mars Reconnaissance Orbiter show the spot where the European Space Agency’s Schiaparelli lander crashed – in black and white and…
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New images resolve finer details of Mars lander’s crash site
This Oct. 25, 2016, image shows the area where the European Space Agency’s Schiaparelli test lander reached the surface of Mars, with magnified insets of three sites where components of the spacecraft hit the ground. At center-right is the main impact site of the Schiaparelli lander. The locations of the lander’s back shell and attached…
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Mars orbiter locates Schiaparelli lander’s crash site
Before-and-after images of the Schiaparelli landing site taken May 29, 2016, and on Thursday show two new features attributed to the lander. A dark fuzzy marking near the top of the frame is from the impact of the Schiaparelli lander, and a bright dot lower in the image is likely the lander’s parachute. Credit: NASA/JPL-Caltech/MSSS…
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What went wrong with Europe’s Mars lander? Signs point to parachute
An artist’s conception shows the Schiaparelli lander at the end of its parachute. (Credit: ESA) The European Space Agency’s Schiaparelli lander apparently crashed after its parachute was ejected too early and its thrusters switched off too soon, according to data relayed back from its orbiting mothership. “We have data coming back that allow us to fully understand the steps…
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Last data from Schiaparelli Mars lander hold clues to what went wrong
Artist’s concept illustrating the moment the Schiaparelli lander was to jettison its back shell and parachute and ignite its descent engines. Credit: ESA/ATG medialab The first sign of trouble from Europe’s Schiaparelli lander came around the time the probe was supposed to jettison its parachute and fire thrusters to brake for touchdown on the vast…
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Live coverage: ExoMars orbiter steers into orbit around Mars, lander’s fate TBD
Live coverage of the ExoMars Trace Gas Orbiter and the Schiaparelli lander arriving at Mars. Text updates will appear automatically below; there is no need to reload the page. Follow us on Twitter.
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European Space Agency hails orbiter’s arrival at Mars but loses track of lander
An artist’s conception show the European Space Agency’s Trace Gas Orbiter releasing the Schiaparelli lander for its descent to Mars. (Credit: D. Ducros / ESA) For the first time in 13 years, the European Space Agency has put a spacecraft in orbit around Mars – and has sent a piggyback lander to an unknown fate…
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ESA celebrates ExoMars orbiter success, keeps vigil for lost lander
Artist’s concept of the ExoMars Trace Gas Orbiter firing its main engine to enter orbit around Mars. Credit: ESA/ATG medialab A European-built orbiter designed to seek out the source of methane on Mars slipped into orbit around the red planet Wednesday after a seven-month interplanetary journey, but mission control lost contact with an experimental landing…