Publication Date:
2019-08-06
Description:
The European Space Agencys ExoMars Trace Gas Orbiter (TGO) arrived at Mars on October 19, 2016, three days after releasing the Schiaparelli Lander on a ballistic trajectory to Meridiani Planum. During the separation event, and subsequently during Schiaparellis Entry, Descent, and Landing (EDL), the NASA-provided Electra UHF payload onboard TGO was used to record signals from the Schiaparelli Lander for post-processing on the ground to recover both tracking of the landers carrier signal and reconstruction of the landers 8 kb/s telemetry. In addition, ESAs Mars Express orbiter also recorded the Schiaparelli signal, with ground post-processing providing independent tracking of the lander carrier signal, and the Giant Metrewave Radio Telescope near Pune, India was configured to provide real-time detection of the lander carrier signal. While an anomaly in the latter stages of EDL led to loss of the lander, these critical event data sets, and in particular the telemetry reconstruction enabled by the TGO Electra recording, proved essential in enabling detailed diagnosis of the anomaly. And while the loss of the lander during EDL precluded the planned surface relay operations, the preparations for that activity provide important lessons learned for future Mars relay support scenarios.
Keywords:
Lunar and Planetary Science and Exploration; Instrumentation and Photography
Type:
JPL-CL-CL#17-0284
,
2017 IEEE Aerospace Conference; Mar 04, 2017 - Mar 11, 2017; Big Sky, MT; United States
Format:
text
Permalink
