Mars has two moons, Phobos and Deimos, but no one can say for sure where they came from. Two leading theories propose that they are either asteroids captured into Mars orbit, or were born from the debris thrown out from a giant impact on the surface of Mars. The Japanese Aerospace Exploration Agency, JAXA, is planning a mission to survey the two moons, and return a sample from one of them. Europe is also participating to the Martian Moons Exploration mission. Clarifying the origin of the two moons will help us understand more about how the Solar System formed and evolved.

ESA has demonstrated expertise in studying Mars from orbit, now we are looking to secure a safe landing, to rove across the surface and to drill underground to search for evidence of life. Our orbiters are already in place to provide data relay services for surface missions. The next logical step is to bring samples back to Earth, to provide access to Mars for scientists globally, and to better prepare for future human exploration of the Red Planet.

This set of infographics highlight’s ESA’s contribution to Mars exploration as we ramp up to the launch of our second ExoMars mission, and look beyond to completing a Mars Sample Return mission.

Credits: ESA – S. Poletti

Tags:   ESA European Space Agency Space Universe Cosmos Space Science Science Space Technology Tech Technology Mars Red Planet Infographic Infographics To Mars And Back Space19plus Did you know

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Mars Express is equipped with a webcam – the Visual Monitoring Camera – that returns regular snapshots of the planet from orbit. Originally designed for capturing the separation of the Beagle-2 lander, the camera was later ‘upgraded’ to a scientific instrument, providing context views of the entire planet and its atmospheric features. To date it has returned over 35 000 images; they are shared automatically to the camera’s Twitter account and posted on a dedicated Flickr channel.

Taking global images of Mars in one snapshot is only possible by two Mars spacecraft: through the Visual Monitoring Camera onboard ESA’s Mars Express and the Mars Colour Camera on India’s Mangalyaan orbiter – depending on how close they are to the planet. NASA’s Mars Odyssey also provides daily global views, combined of multiple image segments.

ESA has demonstrated expertise in studying Mars from orbit, now we are looking to secure a safe landing, to rove across the surface and to drill underground to search for evidence of life. Our orbiters are already in place to provide data relay services for surface missions. The next logical step is to bring samples back to Earth, to provide access to Mars for scientists globally, and to better prepare for future human exploration of the Red Planet.

This set of infographics highlight’s ESA’s contribution to Mars exploration as we ramp up to the launch of our second ExoMars mission, and look beyond to completing a Mars Sample Return mission.

Credits: ESA – S. Poletti

Tags:   ESA European Space Agency Space Universe Cosmos Space Science Science Space Technology Tech Technology Mars Red Planet Infographic Infographics To Mars And Back Space19plus Did you know

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Mars Express made the first ever detection of martian auroras in 2004, soon after the spacecraft arrived at the Red Planet.

On Earth, auroras are spectacular, colourful displays that are regularly seen in the night sky above the polar regions. On our planet, as well as on the giant planets Jupiter, Saturn, Uranus and Neptune, they occur where the planetary magnetic field lines approach the surface near the poles. The emissions of light are produced by charged particles (electrons, protons or ions) in the solar wind travelling down the field lines and colliding with gaseous molecules or atoms in the upper atmosphere. Mars no longer has have a global magnetic field but residual spots of magnetism are left in its crust, remnants of an old magnetic field. Mars Express detected localized light emissions in the upper atmosphere over these areas. Over the 15 years of the mission, Mars Express has been providing more and more details of the auroras at Mars, which seem to be unique in the Solar System.

ESA has demonstrated expertise in studying Mars from orbit, now we are looking to secure a safe landing, to rove across the surface and to drill underground to search for evidence of life. Our orbiters are already in place to provide data relay services for surface missions. The next logical step is to bring samples back to Earth, to provide access to Mars for scientists globally, and to better prepare for future human exploration of the Red Planet.

This set of infographics highlight’s ESA’s contribution to Mars exploration as we ramp up to the launch of our second ExoMars mission, and look beyond to completing a Mars Sample Return mission.

Credits: ESA – S. Poletti

Tags:   ESA European Space Agency Space Universe Cosmos Space Science Science Space Technology Tech Technology Mars Red Planet Infographic Infographics Space19plus Did you know

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The story of methane on Mars is a subject of intense debate. On Earth, methane is mainly created by living organisms, but also through natural geological processes. It has a relatively short lifetime of around 400 years – because it is broken down by ultraviolet light – so detecting it on another planet raises exciting questions as to how it is produced. Previous observations of Mars, by both Earth-based telescopes and ESA’s Mars Express, hint at seasonal variations in methane abundance, with concentrations varying with location and time. NASA’s Curiosity rover has also reported methane ‘spikes’, with one corresponding to a detection by Mars Express. Curiously, the ExoMars Trace Gas Orbiter, the most sensitive atmosphere analyser at Mars, has not yet detected any. In order to reconcile the range of results, which show variations in both time and location, scientists have to understand better the different processes acting to create and destroy methane.

It is also important to note that not all life creates methane, so even if there is no methane-generating biology, it does not mean there is no life on Mars. The ESA-Roscosmos ExoMars rover, arriving at Mars in 2021, will be able to drill down below the surface, away from the harsh radiation that would destroy any life there today, to search for evidence underground.

ESA has demonstrated expertise in studying Mars from orbit, now we are looking to secure a safe landing, to rove across the surface and to drill underground to search for evidence of life. Our orbiters are already in place to provide data relay services for surface missions. The next logical step is to bring samples back to Earth, to provide access to Mars for scientists globally, and to better prepare for future human exploration of the Red Planet.

This set of infographics highlight’s ESA’s contribution to Mars exploration as we ramp up to the launch of our second ExoMars mission, and look beyond to completing a Mars Sample Return mission.

Credits: ESA – S. Poletti

Tags:   ESA European Space Agency Space Universe Cosmos Space Science Science Space Technology Tech Technology Mars Red Planet Infographic Infographics To Mars And Back Space19plus Did you know

© All Rights Reserved

Mars Express has provided a wealth of evidence for the planet’s wetter past, from images of dried out river beds to the discovery of minerals that can only form in the presence of water. With radar, the spacecraft also detected a pond of liquid water buried below layers of ice near the planet’s south pole. Meanwhile, the ExoMars Trace Gas Orbiter is mapping the distribution of water-ice and water-rich minerals in the uppermost metre of the planet’s surface. Understanding critical resources like water is essential to understand the history of life on other worlds – and for future robotic and human exploration.

ESA has demonstrated expertise in studying Mars from orbit, now we are looking to secure a safe landing, to rove across the surface and to drill underground to search for evidence of life. Our orbiters are already in place to provide data relay services for surface missions. The next logical step is to bring samples back to Earth, to provide access to Mars for scientists globally, and to better prepare for future human exploration of the Red Planet.

This set of infographics highlight’s ESA’s contribution to Mars exploration as we ramp up to the launch of our second ExoMars mission, and look beyond to completing a Mars Sample Return mission.

Credits: ESA – S. Poletti

Tags:   ESA European Space Agency Space Universe Cosmos Space Science Science Space Technology Tech Technology Mars Red Planet Infographic Infographics To Mars And Back Space19plus Did you know

© All Rights Reserved