Agency

ExoMars at Mars: briefing from ESOC

Date: Thu, Oct 20, 2016 | 07:45 - 09:30 GMT | 09:45 - 11:30 CEST

Type: ESA TV Live

Format: 16:9

The Trace Gas Orbiter (TGO) of ESA’s ExoMars 2016 has successfully performed the long burn required to be captured by Mars and entered an elliptical orbit around the Red Planet, while contact has not yet been confirmed with Schiaparelli, the mission’s test lander from the surface. The TGO is now well on its planned orbit around Mars.

The ESA Operations Centre (ESOC) teams are trying to confirm contact with the Entry, Descent & Landing Demonstrator Module (EDM), Schiaparelli, which entered the Martian atmosphere after TGO started its own orbit insertion manoeuvre.

Prior to atmospheric entry contact was established with EDM just after it began transmitting a beacon signal 75 minutes before reaching the upper layers of the Martian atmosphere. However, the signal was lost some time prior to landing.

A series of windows have been programmed to listen for signals coming from the lander via different means.

Media are invited to a briefing tomorrow, 20 October, at 10:00 CEST at ESOC in Darmstadt, Germany.

This event will be transmitted live via satellite and webstreamed on esa.int

More information at: http://www.esa.int/Our_Activities/Space_Science/ExoMars

Satellite Parameters:

Satellite Parameters

Tx slot: 0745-0930GMT
Eutelsat 10A @ 10degEast
Txp B5 Ch C (9MHz)
D/link freq: 11144.83 MHz Pol: X/horizontal
Signal: HD 1080i/50 MPEG4 420 clear SR: 7.200 FEC: ¾ Mod: DVBS2/8PSK
Audio 1: commentated mix (Eng lang)
Audio 2: international (Russian lang)
Audio mono/PIDs open

For any inquiries regarding satellite or ftp reception please contact the ESA TV production team:
Dominique Detain at dominique.detain@esa.int / tel + 33 685 114 681
Chris Courtenay Taylor at chrisct@worldwidepictures.tv / tel + 44 7774 275 951