ExoMars completes the parachute test before launch in 2022

It completed its first full-scale high-altitude drop test, following redesigned elements after two failed tests last year.

The European Space Agency (ESA) said that although parachute extraction and deceleration proceeded as planned, some damage to the canopy has occurred, suggesting that the initial inflation process should be “the focus of further improvements “.

Once the rover reaches Mars, a six-minute sequence will see a descent module deploy two parachutes to quickly slow it down before it lands on the Martian surface.

Atmospheric drag will slow the module from around 21,000 km / h to 1,700 km / h, at which point the first parachute will be deployed. About 20 seconds later, at around 400 km / h, the second parachute will open. After the parachute separates about 1km above the ground, the brake motors will kick in to safely transport the landing pad to the surface of Mars.

“Landing on Mars is extremely difficult, without the possibility of error,” says Francois Spoto, team leader of the ExoMars program.

“The last test was a good step forward but it is not yet the perfect result we are looking for. Therefore, we will use the extensive test data we have acquired to refine our approach, plan further tests and stay on track for our launch in September 2022. “

The test had been delayed since March due to the coronavirus pandemic, wind and forest fires.

It took place in Oregon earlier this month, with a drop test vehicle lifted to a height of 29km in a stratospheric balloon.

The ExoMars program is a joint effort between ESA and Russia’s Roscosmos. In addition to the 2022 mission, it also includes the Trace Gas Orbiter (TGO) launched in 2016.

In 2019, TGO measurements showed little sign of methane on the planet despite finding previous indications that the gas was present. The findings could reduce the chances that life ever existed on Mars.