ExoMars set to be renamed
The ExoMars project is set to be renamed. The concept has changed so much since the project was first envisioned and its costs first set that the new ExoMars is really an entirely different creature from the 2005 version. Jean Jacques Dordain will ask ministers in November for a near doubling of the 650 million euro budget they originally agreed in 2005. ExoMars, under its new name, will hopefully launch for Mars in 2013.
“I am asking [my officials] to find a different way to define ExoMars because if we say ‘this is ExoMars’, for most of the ministers it means ‘over-cost’. And this is not over-cost because we are not speaking at all of the same mission; it is a completely different mission. This is to try to make ministers understand that this is not over-cost.” Mr Dordain told the press.
The ExoMars rover will be ESA’s field biologist on Mars. Its aim is to further characterise the biological environment on Mars in preparation for robotic missions and then human exploration. This mission calls for the development of a Mars orbiter, a descent module and a Mars rover. The Mars orbiter will have to be capable of reaching Mars and putting itself into orbit around the planet. On board will be a Mars rover within a descent module. Some of the reasons for the extra cost is to do with self sufficiency. Originally it was proposed to rely on NASA orbiters, later it was decided that such a move would be a little risky and an Orbiter was thrown in. Due to the project’s popularity the mission has changed from primarily a technical mission with a little science to one which features plenty of both.
According to the ESA website: “The Mars descent module will deliver the rover to a specific location by using an inflatable braking device or parachute system. Using conventional solar arrays to generate electricity, the Rover will be able to travel a few kilometres over the rocky orange-red surface of Mars. The vehicle will be capable of operating autonomously by using onboard software and will navigate by using optical sensors. Included in its approximately 40 kg exobiology payload will be a lightweight drilling system, a sampling and handling device, and a set of scientific instruments to search for signs of past or present life.”
Image credit: ESA - AOES Medialab
