Scenario 2: Mars 2018 Mission
SC1: Frances Westall
SC2: Damien Loizeau
Report of the hands-on sessions
Report of the common session with the MSR scenario team
Relevance for planned missions
Within the overall scheme of human missions to Mars, a number of key robotic mission steps need to be accomplished. Within ESA’s Aurora programme, the ExoMars mission was a critical primary technology and science-driven mission consisting of an orbiter, and EDL system and an instrumented rover. In the present framework of joint missions with NASA (and other countries), the European rover (now called ExoMars) will complement the American rover, Max-C, in the new architecture for the 2018 launch slot. The technology part of the mission will consist of a European EDL demonstration.
Style of mission
For ESA, in the previous Aurora framework, this Mars mission is primarily technology driven. However, in the new two-rover configuration for the 2018 launch, technology is joined to primary science drives. The technological aspect consists of the rover chassis, the drill, and the payload instruments. However, the science goals behind the mission are the drivers of the technology.
Goals of mission
The search for traces of past and/or present life in subsurface Martian materials and the geological/geochemical characterisation of the landing site in terms of habitability.
Technical aspects
The mission is rover-based with the following instrumentation:
- For context studies:
- Multi spectral, wide angle panoramic camera with high resolution colour camera
- Zoom close-up imager (colour, 10 cm to ∞)
- Ground penetrating radar (2-3 m)
- Drill (2m depth, core 3 x 1 cm)
- Downhole IR capability
- Internal laboratory:
- Raman, IR spectroscopy (mineralogy, compounds)
- XRD (mineralogy)
- pyrolysis GC-MS/LD-MS (organic composition, chirality, isotopes)
- Life marker chip (detection of molecules of biologic origin)
Preliminary criteria for the landing site
Zone that is thought to be or to have been potentially habitable for microbial life forms. Evidence for water-containing minerals or for sediments deposited in (standing bodies of) water, or for aqueous alteration of rocks. Evidence for minerals that could retain morphological or organo-geochemical traces of life.