Emily Lakdawalla • Oct 14, 2016
ExoMars update: Timeline for separation and orbit insertion
ESA is now maintaining a live blog with ExoMars arrival updates, and several bits of news appeared this morning:
- The orbit correction maneuver to line up Schiaparelli for arrival amounted to 1.4 centimeters per second
- Schiaparelli is GO for entry, descent, landing, and surface operations
- ExoMars Trace Gas Orbiter (TGO) is GO for orbit insertion
- The burn was executed at 08:45 UTC (unclear if this is spacecraft event time or Earth received time, probably the former), with "a very tiny underperformance from TGO's thrusters but the burn was overall very good"
- Another burn is scheduled for 02:42 UTC spacecraft event time on October 17 to shift TGO from Schiaparelli's impact trajectory to TGO's desired orbit insertion trajectory
- Watch for news on Twitter from @esaoperations, @ESA_ExoMars, @ESA_TGO, and @ESA_EDM
- Watch ESA's livestream running on and off for most of October 19
ESA has also released their press kit for TGO orbit insertion and Schiaparelli arrival. If you have any questions about the spacecraft, their instruments, or their mission, you'll likely find them answered in the press kit!
At the time of ExoMars arrival, the one-way light time between Mars and Earth will be 9 minutes 45 seconds. I've copied the timeline from the press kit below and converted it to various time zones for your convenience. All times below are Earth received time -- so for events at Mars, this is the time we can expect to receive information here on Earth of the events that transpired about 10 minutes before on Mars.
Event | Time (PDT) | Time (EDT) | Time (UTC) | Time (CEST) |
---|---|---|---|---|
Final commands uplinked | Oct 15 19:42 | Oct 15 22:42 | Oct 16 02:42 | Oct 16 04:42 |
Separation of Schiaparelli | Oct 16 07:51 | Oct 16 10:51 | Oct 16 14:51 | Oct 16 16:51 |
Short ESA Livestream update confirming separation | 07:30 | 10:30 | 14:30 | 16:30 |
TGO orbit-raising maneuver (burn | Oct 16 19:51 | Oct 16 22:51 | Oct 17 02:51 | Oct 17 04:51 |
TGO switches to Mars orbit insertion mode | Oct 16 22:51 | Oct 17 01:51 | Oct 17 05:51 | Oct 17 07:51 |
Uplink of Mars orbit insertion commands | Oct 18 02:00 | Oct 18 05:00 | Oct 18 09:00 | Oct 18 11:00 |
ESA Livestream begins | Oct 19 06:00 | Oct 19 09:00 | Oct 19 13:00 | Oct 19 15:00 |
TGO orbit insertion begins (maximum 147-minute burn) | 06:14 | 09:14 | 13:14 | 15:14 |
Mars Express starts to record Schiaparelli telemetry | 06:32 | 09:32 | 13:32 | 15:32 |
Schiaparelli starts transmitting | 06:36 | 09:36 | 13:36 | 15:36 |
TGO starts to record Schiaparelli telemetry | 07:30 | 10:30 | 14:30 | 16:30 |
Schiaparelli enters atmosphere | 07:52 | 10:52 | 14:52 | 16:52 |
Parachute deploy at 11 km altitude, 1650 km/h | 07:55 | 10:55 | 14:55 | 16:55 |
Heat shield separation at 7 km altitude, 320 km/h | 07:56 | 10:56 | 14:56 | 16:56 |
Backshell separation at 1.3 km altitude, 240 km/h | 07:57 | 10:57 | 14:57 | 16:57 |
Schiaparelli thrusters on at 1.1 km altitude, 250 km/h | 07:57 | 10:57 | 14:57 | 16:57 |
Thrusters off, start of freefall at 2 m altitude, 4 km/h | 07:57 | 10:57 | 14:57 | 16:57 |
Landing | 07:57 | 10:57 | 14:57 | 16:57 |
TGO sets below Schiaparelli horizon | 08:06 | 11:06 | 15:06 | 17:06 |
Schiaparelli hibernates | 08:13 | 11:13 | 15:13 | 17:13 |
ESA Livestream pauses | 08:15 | 11:15 | 15:15 | 17:15 |
Mars Express ends recording | 08:18 | 11:18 | 15:18 | 17:18 |
TGO orbit insertion ends (latest possible time) | 08:41 | 11:41 | 15:41 | 17:41 |
TGO slews toward Earth | 08:42 | 11:42 | 15:42 | 17:42 |
ESA Livestream resumes | 08:44 | 11:44 | 15:44 | 17:44 |
Mars Express starts transmitting Schiaparelli recording | 08:49 | 11:49 | 15:49 | 17:49 |
Mars Express ends transmission of Schiaparelli signal | 08:59 | 11:59 | 15:59 | 17:59 |
TGO telemetry received | 09:32 | 12:32 | 16:32 | 18:32 |
ESA Livestream pauses | 09:59 | 12:59 | 16:59 | 18:59 |
ESA Livestream ends | 11:25 | 14:25 | 18:25 | 20:25 |
ESA Livestream ends | 13:03 | 16:03 | 20:03 | 22:03 |
Press briefing including presentation of images from Schiaparelli | Oct 20 01:00 | Oct 20 04:00 | Oct 20 08:00 | Oct 20 10:00 |
Event | Time (PDT) | Time (EDT) | Time (UTC) | Time (CEST) |
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