Mars Landing

The intrepid European probe will land on Mars on Wednesday.

18:45 18 October 2016

The Schiaparelli probe will land on Mars on Wednesday, as scheduled. On Sunday, the intrepid lander successfully detached from its mothership and is about to complete its journey of 500 million kilometres.

 

The Schiaparelli probe carries a small instrument package that will record wind speed, humidity, pressure and temperature at the landing site. It will also take electric field measurements that may help scientists understand how Martian dust storms are triggered.  

 

The two-stage £1 billion (1.2 billion euro) joint European and Russian ExoMars mission aims to gather information or evidence of past or present life on Mars, if it exists.

 

Schiaparelli’s command sequences are time-saved, which means that it can carry out its mission even when out of contact. It is due to touch down at 15.48 BST on Wednesday, October 19. During the landing, the command signals will eject the front and back aeroshells, operate descent sensors, deploy the braking parachute, and activate three groups of hydrazine retro rockets.  After touch down, it will be programmed to keep its science instruments running for at least two days.