ExoMars 2020 surface platform

ExoMars 2020 surface platform
Names ExoMars 2018 Surface Platform[1]
Mission type Mars lander and rover
Operator ESA & Roscosmos
Website www.esa.int/Our_Activities/Space_Science/ExoMars/Surface_platform
Mission duration Planned: ≥ 1 Earth year[2]
Spacecraft properties
Manufacturer Lavochkin
Launch mass Lander: 827.9 kg (1,825 lb)
Rover: 310 kg (680 lb)
Payload mass Lander: 45 kg (99 lb)
Start of mission
Launch date July 2020[3]
Rocket Proton-M/Briz-M
Mars lander
Landing date ≈April 2021
ExoMars programme

The ExoMars 2020 surface platform is a planned robotic Mars lander, part of the ExoMars 2020 mission by the European Space Agency and the Roscosmos State Corporation.

The plan calls for a Russian launch vehicle to deliver the Russian-built surface platform as well as the ExoMars rover to Mars' surface.[4] Once safely landed, the platform will deploy the rover and will start a one Earth-year mission to investigate the surface environment at the landing site.[2]

The spacecraft was scheduled to launch in 2018 and land on Mars in early 2019,[4] but due to delays in European and Russian industrial activities and deliveries of the scientific payload, it was moved to the launch window in July 2020.[3]

Scientific instruments

The science payload mass is about 45 kg and consists of:[2]

Power

Russia is evaluating the option of using a radioisotope thermoelectric generator (RTG) to power the science instruments,[5] and a radioisotope heater unit (RHU) to provide thermal control on the frozen Martian surface.[6]

Landing site selection

Oxia Planum, near the equator, is the selected landing site for its potential to preserve biosignatures and smooth surface

After a review by an ESA-appointed panel, a short list of four sites was formally recommended in October 2014 for further detailed analysis:[7][8]

On 21 October 2015, Oxia Planum was chosen as the preferred landing site for the ExoMars rover assuming a 2018 launch.

Since the launch was postponed to 2020, Aram Dorsum and Mawrth Vallis will also be considered.[9][10] ESA convened further workshops to re-evaluate the three remaining options and in March 2017 selected two sites to study in detail:

The final selection is scheduled to occur approximately a year before launch.[11]

References

  1. ↑ "ExoMars 2018 Surface Platform Experiment Proposal Information Package (pdf, 8.3 MB)". European Space Agency. 31 March 2015. Retrieved 4 October 2016.
  2. 1 2 3 "Exomars 2018 surface platform". European Space Agency. Retrieved 14 March 2016.
  3. 1 2 "N° 11–2016: Second ExoMars mission moves to next launch opportunity in 2020" (Press release). ESA. 2 May 2016. Retrieved 2 May 2016.
  4. 1 2 "Russia and Europe Team Up for Mars Missions". Space.com. 14 March 2013. Retrieved 24 January 2016.
  5. ↑ Amos, Jonthan (21 June 2013). "Looking forward to Europe's 'seven minutes of terror'". BBC News.
  6. ↑ Zak, Anatoly (3 March 2016). "ExoMars 2018". Russian Space Web. Retrieved 15 March 2016.
  7. ↑ "Four Candidate Landing Sites for ExoMars 2018". ESA. Space Ref. 1 October 2014. Retrieved 1 October 2014.
  8. ↑ "Recommendation for the Narrowing of ExoMars 2018 Landing Sites". ESA. 1 October 2014. Retrieved 1 October 2014.
  9. ↑ Amos, Jonathan (21 October 2015). "ExoMars rover: Landing preference is for Oxia Planum". BBC News. Retrieved 22 October 2015.
  10. ↑ Atkinson, Nancy (21 October 2015). "Scientists Want ExoMars Rover to Land at Oxia Planum". Universe Today. Retrieved 22 October 2015.
  11. ↑ Bauer, Markus; Vago, Jorge (28 March 2017). "Final two ExoMars landing sites chosen". European Space Agency. Retrieved 31 March 2017.

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