Exo Mars 2009 ( Esa ), New Orbiter and Rover Mission to Mars Options

[Guest_spaceffm_*]

Double Mission to Mars ( 2009 )

Rover Mass: 200kg ( 40 kg carry on load )
Orbiter: works like Mars Express and serves as a relaisstation for the Rover.

The name EXO-MARS comes from Exobiology, which will be one of the main Goals of the mission. To find extraterrestrial Life.
The Rover namend Pasteur equipped with a sophisticated suite of instruments to search systematically for the existence – past or present - of micro-biological processes will drive several km on the surface and drill up to 1,5m down the soil to analyze it.
This mobile laboratory is an essential precursor to a later Aurora Mars Sample Return Mission.

Mission Status: Study Phase nearing completion.

Picture of the Rover:





Picture of the Orbiter:



This mission will be the first mission in ESA's ambitious Aurora Program.


I was wondering why ther was no thread or section about this new mission of ESA...

[cIclops]

I was wondering why ther was no thread or section about this new mission of ESA...

As you mentioned ExoMars is still in a study phase and is not yet an approved mission. If accepted the next phase will be assessment followed by definition then implementation in ESA speak. It will be an expensive project and there are many other projects competing for ESA's small budget ...

[Guest_spaceffm_*]

Well i think that this mission will come for sure.
After the success of Mars Express and the MER Rovers it would be stupid not to send this Rover and Orbiter.

Hopefully Germany will pay more for the budget of ESA in the next years.

[djellison]

Well i think that this mission will come for sure.

I dont. Not a chance within the next decade.

But this is the right place to discuss is 'Past and Future'

Doug

[Reckless]

Well i think that this mission will come for sure.

I dont. Not a chance within the next decade.

But this is the right place to discuss is 'Past and Future'

Doug

Have you seen this site on the Exomars mission?
http://www.esa.int/export/esaMI/Aurora/SEM1NVZKQAD_0.html
This is my first posting
Reckless

[Guest_spaceffm_*]

well i prefer to stay optimistic about that mission.

Anyway the next years are going to be very exiting due to many Nasa Missions, even if Exomars is going to be delayed.

Thx Reckless for the Link to ESA!

[remcook]

There will be the need for a demonstrator mission first.

Probably more vague ideas will come up at the Aurora mission workshop, next week in Birmingham. But so far, Aurora is quite immature.

[djellison]

Consider the NASA Phoenix mission. It's half built already, has $400m in funding in place, and is launching 2007. The 2009 MSL for which they have plenty of funding and plenty of heritage is probably going to get pushed on to 2011.

ESA have no funding in place, no pre-cursor mission in place which they insist must occur before ExoMars, no heritage of any succesfull mars lander. 2009 is a bad joke, 2011 is quite a bad joke. Exo Mars isnt happening this decade - and frankly I find it hard to believe it'll happen before 2015 if at all -at which time it'll be redundent as the science it's intending to do will have been done by MSL - probably twice.

Doug

[centsworth_II]

Exo Mars isnt happening this decade - and frankly I find it hard to believe it'll happen before 2015 if at all -at which time it'll be redundent...

It seems to me that it will be a long time before any mission to Mars is redundant. With the complex and varied geology of Mars coming to light, there are many more enticing landing areas than possible missions. Even those proposing 10 or more MER type landers have a point in saying that this could be done with virtually no overlap in geology studied amongst the 10 locations. The same goes for rovers searching for organics. I'm sure that even after multiple MSL landings, there will still be plenty of candidate sites which are totaly different from those already visited and greatly deserving of study.
If there is a race to be the first to find traces of life on Mars, I'm sorry to say that the race will quite possible not have been won before ESA gets their rover there, no matter how long that takes.

[djellison]

Instead of wasting my tax money on a misison like Exo Mars - I would MUCH rather they worked on a unique and important mission like Netlander. THAT - is something ESA could do - THAT would be worth doing. Trying to compete with NASA for the flagship stuff is pointless and ultimately consigned to fail

Doug

[Sym05]

Sym05 from Europe, Italy.

EXO Mars and Mars sample return mission !!!! "could be launched as early as 2011" Can't believe.

I don't want to start a political discussion, simply we don't have a President that have a "vision" . Yes, USA still have Congress, budget, etc, but probably they are better positioned for such kind of missions.

Bepi Colombo had a lander, but was dropped in the trashcan instead of Mercury surface!

...can't continue, my laptop battery is running low.

[Guest_spaceffm_*]

well i won't respond to any of political stuff because it ends often in fights, i know that because i run my own big forum.


In my opinion Nasa and ESA etc.should work together to achieve our goals, the EU Member states should pay more money in the budget of ESA then Aurora could became true faster.
Remember ESA landed Huygens successful on Titan...
Remember Nasa lost 2 very important probes bound for Mars...

Even with experience you can fail and even without experience you can succeed.

Despite the financial status of ESA shoud we all not be happy that there is such a proposal? Shoud we not be all happy that so many missions are planned and not talking them down?

[gpurcell]

well i won't respond to any of political stuff because it ends often in fights, i know that because i run my own big forum.


In my opinion Nasa and ESA etc.should work together to achieve our goals, the EU Member states should pay more money in the budget of ESA then Aurora could became true faster.
Remember ESA landed Huygens successful on Titan...
Remember Nasa lost 2 very important probes bound for Mars...

Even with experience you can fail and even without experience you can succeed.

Despite the financial status of ESA shoud we all not be happy that there is such a proposal? Shoud we not be all happy that so many missions are planned and not talking them down?

Hm.

Actually, I get quite tired of viewgraph missions. I like real missions. Netlander, now that could have been an excellent first step for ESA. But for an organization which has never sucessfully delivered and landed a mission on any planetary surface other that the Earth to decide its going to jump right to a fancy rover on Mars sounds more like dreaming than a real plan.

I've seen absolutely no indication that ESA wil be funding Aurora at levels required to fulfil its aims.

[Guest_spaceffm_*]

ok, i understand.
There seems to be no interest to discuss this possible mission in a normal way.
Perhaps the Administrator should delete the thread if members get so tired with it.
I excuse myself for starting the thread, bye.

[djellison]

Perhaps the Administrator should delete the thread  if members get so tired with it.

Who, me ?

Hell no - it's a healthy discussion

Doug