What happened with the probe Schiaparelli that was going to land on Mars? – Hypertext

The mystery Mars continues. The European Space Agency (ESA) and the Roscosmos Russian don’t know what exactly happened with the probe should have landed yesterday on the red planet. In the last moments of the amartizaje, the signal was lost Schiaparelli, a disappointment if we take into account that it was the first time that Europe and Russia were engaged in the maneuvers of entry and descent at Mars. But, what has happened to the module?

bittersweet for Europe and Russia, which were trying to land on Mars for the first time in its history

ESA has offered this morning a press conference from its control centre in Darmstadt (Germany). Scientists have tried to clarify the outcome of the probe Schiaparelli, highlighting the success of the mission ExoMars at have managed to insert a new orbiter (Trace Gas Orbiter) around Mars. While it is true that the main objective of this initiative space is to solve the mystery of methane on the red planet, something that will handle the instrument TGO, the disappointment about Schiaparelli is more than obvious.

what The problem? The last 50 seconds

The spokesmen of the agency have explained that Schiaparelli made while the entry in the atmosphere of Mars, as the first phases of the descent as planned. The first data would confirm, therefore, that the module withstood the high temperatures thanks to the heat shield that he wore. The telemetry also indicates that the parachute with which the probe should slow down their speed came out to be opened.

The uncertainty comes just fifty seconds before the time scheduled for the landing.

The scientists lost the signal Schiaparelli 50 seconds before the scheduled time for your amartizaje

According to the ESA, the retrorockets of Schiaparelli, designed to slow down his fall, came to light during a much shorter time than expected. The first data indicate that this system was activated for about 3-4 seconds, when in reality you would have to have been in operation for at least 30 seconds. Therefore, the first hypothesis points to a possible failure of the retrorockets, the drive mechanism that helped to ensure the deceleration of the module, along with the shutdown of the engines and the deployment of the parachute. “Can not confirm a soft landing of Schiaparelli”, have lamented sources of the European Space Agency.

The researchers have been assured that the telemetry data have been sent by Schiaparelli. Even in the case of that the module would have crashed into the red planet, the ESA and the Roscosmos russians could get more information about what has actually occurred. The data from the accelerometer that is carried in its interior, for example, can indicate whether Schiaparelli came to rest on the martian surface. “It’s a loss, but not a huge loss because we have information” has highlighted one of the spokespersons.

despite the fact that the first reports are provisional, it is disappointing that it has not been able to get more news about the probe. Neither the radio telescope in India that was supposed to detect the signals, or the mission Mars Express the craft Mars Reconnaissance Orbiter NASA have listened to Schiaparelli. Scientists will continue trying to connect with the probe, whose batteries will run out in the next few days. However, the outcome is a little optimistic of the mission of amartizaje, who remembers what happened with the probe Beagle 2, it complicates the future of ExoMars 2020. The ESA was intended to send this robot within four years to explore the red planet.

The retrorockets to slow the descent of the probe did not work properly, although it came to light

Getting to Mars is not easy, and the bittersweet taste that leaves this mission has been corroborated. Schiaparelli had to prove that the technology to enter the atmosphere and descend to the martian soil worked. While devices such as the capsule thermal yes seem to have done their homework, researchers should analyze now what has failed in the last moments. Determine what error has occurred and check what happened with the parachutes and retrorockets will be critical to learn and apply this knowledge in future missions.

at the moment, only the NASA has managed to successfully place a probe on the red planet. The former USSR, in 1971, he also got Mars 3 arrived, but only remained in contact for fifteen seconds, according to remember Nuño Domínguez in The Nation. The difficulty for amartizar a module of this type are enormous, taking into account the environmental conditions of Mars and their situation to hundreds of millions of kilometres from Earth.

The results of ExoMars serve to reflect about the complexity of establishing a hypothetical colony of human on the red planet, as proposed by the u.s. space agency, or Elon Musk. “Explore Mars, it is difficult, that’s why we do it,” said David Parker, ESA. There is No doubt that the red planet remains a challenge, but fortunately the success of the instrument TGO will help us to know better this world. The unknowns about the end of Schiaparelli, however, continue.