For the first time, ESA’s Mars orbiter has relayed scientific data from NASA’s Curiosity rover on the Red Planet’s surface. The data included detailed images of ‘Rocknest3’ and were received by ESA’s deep-space antenna in Australia.
It was a small but significant step in interplanetary cooperation between space agencies.
Early on the morning of 6 October, ESA’s Mars Express looked down as it orbited the planet, lining up its lander communication antenna to point at Curiosity far below on the surface.
The first image (at top of article) was taken before a series of five ChemCam laser blasts and the second image (at right) was taken after. The image is centred on the fifth observation point.
“The quality of these images from ChemCam is outstanding, and the mosaic image of the spectrometer analyses has been essential for scientific interpretation of the data,” says Sylvestre Maurice, Deputy Principal Investigator for ChemCam at France’s Research Institute in Astrophysics and Planetology (IRAP).
“This combination of imaging and analysis has demonstrated its potential for future missions.”
A third image, relayed separately by NASA, indicates the locations of the laser target points on Rocknest3, as seen by the RMI camera.
ESA’s Mars orbiter has also relayed data for NASA’s other surface missions – Phoenix, Spirit and Opportunity – since 2004, and it relayed Curiosity’s radio signal during its arrival at Mars last August.
During the Curiosity mission, Mars Express is set to provide additional relay slots, while maintaining its own scientific observation programme, under an ESA-NASA support agreement.
It can also rapidly provide relay services in case of unavailability of NASA’s own relay orbiter or if there is a problem on the rover itself.
“ESA–NASA cooperation at Mars is a continuing success, and comes after both sides have worked diligently for a number of years to set technical and engineering standards to enable sharing data between spacecraft, networks and ground stations,” says Mars Express Spacecraft Operations Manager Michel Denis.
“Exploring Mars is a huge challenge, and space agencies are working to boost cooperation and mutual support for current and upcoming missions. It’s the way of the future.”
Subscribe to our newsletter to receive the latest news, mission updates, and exclusive insights directly in your inbox. Be the first to know about our upcoming projects and breakthroughs.
