ExoMars. Why Schiaparelli (probably) fell on Mars? – Interfax

Thomas Ulanowski: Worked on several us missions marsjańskimi, in particular, said that was part of the team that in 1997. safely seated on the red Planet Pathfindera from the NASA the beginning of the study of Mars. Why you can land on Mars, and ESA she lost the second apparatus [previously the British Beagle 2 in 2003.]?

Dr Robert brown: in My opinion, 90%. funds for the current ExoMars mission was put on the ship, the satellite TGO. From a scientific point of view, it is for ESA key. Camera Schiaparelli was just a flower, just beautiful words, the sample – “demonstrator of technological capabilities”.

the lander with our roller, that is, the second stage of the European mission ExoMars, scheduled for 2020. ESA will quit working on it all his strength. Landing on Mars is difficult…

Why?

- Earth, has a thick atmosphere that slows down all landing perfectly on her ship. The atmosphere of Mars is 100 times less on earth! It is extremely difficult, so it to slow down before przyziemieniem.

ESA wanted to do it only in the first six minutes.

- Because that’s usually takes. However, in the Martian NASA missions in which I participated, on the landing worked 20-100 people. In five years we have trained hard to prepare these words for six minutes. Why? Because it was a go or not. A bad landing meant defeat.

under the current ExoMars most engineers, primarily engaged orbiterem – ship-mother. In addition, they worked on lądownikiem. So when yesterday was watching what was happening in the center of flight control of ESA in Darmstadt in Germany, I saw that they were, on the contrary, in the euphoria! The mother ship successfully entered orbit around Mars in the coming years will put huge amounts of scientific data. TGO is a real treasure. And the fact that the unit is silent? Difficult.

But it had to be, because the test before landing the European Mars Rover in 2020.

- ESA is already very tight working on it. Because if he doesn’t land safely, it’s after the mission. Interestingly, from what I know it to sit differently than Schiaparelli. Maybe yesterday’s test, which fell in the negative, furthermore, mobilizes ESA?

*Dr. Robert brown is one of the scientific advisors who helped create the new series paradokumentalnego about a manned mission to Mars. It was released National Geographic Channel. Poland premiere of 13 XI.