ExoMars Science

Date: Mon, Mar 07, 2016 | 07:30 - 07:45 GMT | 08:30 - 08:45 CET

Replay: Sat, Mar 12, 2016 | 11:30 - 11:45 GMT | 12:30 - 12:45 CET

Type: ESA TV Exchange

Format: 16:9

On 14 March at 9h31 GMT ExoMars 2016 will be launched from Baikonur onboard a Proton rocket.

It is the first part of a Programme that intends to extend our knowledge on the red planet and demonstrate ESA capacity for a controlled landing on Mars.

The joint European and Russian ExoMars mission will test key exploration technologies and search for evidence of methane and other rare gases in the Martian atmosphere. These gases could result from geological processes or they could be signatures of current biological activity on the planet.

This film examines the two European science instruments on the ExoMars Trace Gas Orbiter (TGO) - CaSSIS and NOMAD.

The high-resolution CaSSIS (Colour and Stereo Surface Imaging System) acts as the orbiter’s scientific eye. It is a telescope with a sophisticated detector that can provide colour and stereo images over a nine and a half kilometre wide strip.

CaSSIS will examine recurring slope linea - dark lines on the surface of Mars at different times of the day over the planet’s seasons. These linea are believed to be associated with liquid brine. They increase in size during the Martian spring and summer and fade away during autumn and winter.

NOMAD (Nadir and Occultation for MArs Discovery) will be the first high resolution instrument of its kind around the planet. It will observe information about Mars’ atmosphere by looking at the Sun during sunsets and sunrises. It contains three spectrometers - two working in the infrared and one in ultraviolet - and can identify trace gases in the atmosphere, such as methane. The presence of methane in Mars’ atmosphere could result from simple life forms like microbes.

The A-roll and B-roll contains soundbites from NICOLAS THOMAS, professor of experimental physics at the University of Bern and CaSSIS Principal Investigator [English]; and ANN CARINE VANDAELE, from the Royal Belgian Institute of Aeronomy and NOMAD Principal Investigator [English and French].

More information at: http://exploration.esa.int/mars/

Preview and download:
https://www.esa.int/ESA_Multimedia/Videos/2016/03/ExoMars_science

Script:
EbSI-117138.doc

Satellite Parameters: Eutelsat 9A at 9 degrees E, transponder 59, downlink frequency 11900.1 horizontally polarised, symbol rate 27,500 FEC 2/3.