[Space] ESA - Mars Express Mission - Update thread

[GioFX]

Originariamente inviato da maxsona
Quali sono i prossimi progetti dell' ESA ? anche loro hanno in cantiere un Rover ?

Beh, a parte Cassini-Huygens (NASA-ESA) e Rosetta, il prossimo lancio è quello di Venus Express (derivata da Mars Express).

Per marte tutti i progetti, da approvare, si riconducono al progetto Aurora, che prevede una serie di missioni robotizzate sulla luna e marte, e altri asteroidi, inclusa una missione che prevede il ritorno di campioni di roccia su Marte.

Tuttavia, occorre dire che tutti i progetti in corso di svolgimento e/o studio potrebbero subire variazioni o cancellazioni a seconda di come verrà implementato il nuovo progetto di missioni umane su luna e marte, in cooperazione tra NASA, ESA, CSA, RosaviaKosmos e JAXA.

[GioFX]

Europe's Mars Express spies Valles Marineris region

EUROPEAN SPACE AGENCY PHOTO RELEASE
Posted: February 10, 2004

This image was aquired by the European Space Agency's Mars Express orbiter from an altitude of 275 km above the Red Planet. The features in the picture indicate erosional processes possibly caused by water.


Credit: ESA/DLR/FU Berlin (G. Neukum)

[gpc]

Complex caldera of Olympus Mons - Mars Express

11 February 2004
View from overhead of the complex caldera (summit crater) at the summit of Olympus Mons on Mars, the highest volcano in our Solar System.

Olympus Mons has an average elevation of 22 km and the caldera has a depth of about 3 km. This is the first high-resolution colour image of the complete caldera of Olympus Mons.
The image was taken from a height of 273 km during orbit 37 by the High Resolution Stereo Camera (HRSC) on ESA’s Mars Express on 21 January 2004. The view is centred at 18.3°N and 227°E. The image is about 102 km across with a resolution of 12 m per pixel. South is at the top.


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Bellissima anche la foto che hai messo tu... dove l'hai trovata che o io sono o sul sito dell'ESA non c'è?

[GioFX]

Originariamente inviato da gpc
Bellissima anche la foto che hai messo tu... dove l'hai trovata che o io sono o sul sito dell'ESA non c'è?

http://sci.esa.int/science-e/www/obj...objectid=34626

[gpc]

Originariamente inviato da GioFX
http://sci.esa.int/science-e/www/obj...objectid=34626

Thanks!
Ti ringrazio con una news:

British, European Space Agencies Open Inquiry into Beagle 2 Loss
By Peter de Selding
Space News Staff Writer
posted: 09:00 am ET
11 February 2004





PARIS -- The European and British space agencies on Feb. 11 announced the creation of a board of inquiry to determine how future Mars missions might avoid the fate of the lost Beagle 2 lander, which has not been seen or heard from since its Dec. 19 separation from the Mars Express orbiter.

So little is known about what happened to Beagle 2 -- it is presumed to have entered the Martian atmosphere and landed on Dec. 25 -- that the inquiry will focus less on specific causes of the mission's failure than a broad survey of Beagle 2's financing, development and testing.

The board of inquiry will be led by European Space Agency (ESA) Inspector General Rene Bonnefoy and is expected to report its findings by the end of March.

Despite numerous attempts to locate and contact Beagle 2 since late December by NASA's Odyssey satellite, by ESA's Mars Express and by ground-based antennas listening for a Beagle 2 signal, no signs of Beagle 2 life have been registered since its Dec. 19 separation from Mars Express.

Mission managers at Britain's University of Leicester and Open University have said that they would have to accept the loss of the lander by mid-February if no signal were received.

Beagle 2 was designed to search for signs of past or present life on Mars. Its funding, totaling some 49 million euros ($61.25 million), was paid by ESA, the British government and Beagle 2 prime contractor Astrium Ltd. of Stevenage, England.

Despite its ambitious mission goals, the lander's limited budget and weight limits as a piggyback passenger on Mars Express prohibited the inclusion of any backup systems. Any single failure during its descent to Mars, or during the deployment of its parachutes, air bags or solar arrays, could have caused the loss of Beagle 2.


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Interessante la parte finale sui sistemi di backup

[GioFX]

Originariamente inviato da gpc
Interessante la parte finale sui sistemi di backup

Che vuoi, con 60 milioni di dollari non si fa molto... . Pensa che solo Mars Express è costata 350 milioni, mentre missioni più complesse come Rosetta arrivano al miliardo ( ).

[gpc]

Originariamente inviato da GioFX
Che vuoi, con 60 milioni di dollari non si fa molto... . Pensa che solo Mars Express è costata 350 milioni, mentre missioni più complesse come Rosetta arrivano al miliardo ( ).

Lo so che sessanta milioni di dollari sono un'inezia , ma mandare una sonda su marte... senza sistemi di backup... beh, non mi viene altro da fare che
Piuttosto non gliela mandi e ti tieni i soldi per dopo!!

[GioFX]

Originariamente inviato da gpc
Lo so che sessanta milioni di dollari sono un'inezia , ma mandare una sonda su marte... senza sistemi di backup... beh, non mi viene altro da fare che
Piuttosto non gliela mandi e ti tieni i soldi per dopo!!

Beh, questo tipo di misisoni sono dette, appunto, "low-cost missions"... sono la maggiorparte, in realtà.

[GioFX]

International, interplanetary and no interference! Mars Express calls up Spirit

12 February 2004

ESA PR 10-2004. A pioneering demonstration of communications between the European Space Agency's Mars Express orbiter and NASA's Mars exploration rover, Spirit, has succeeded.

On 6 February, while Mars Express was flying over the area that Spirit is examining, the orbiter transferred commands from Earth to the rover and relayed data from the rover back to Earth.

"This was the first in-orbit communication between ESA and NASA spacecraft, and we have also created the first working international communications network around another planet," said Rudolf Schmidt, ESA's Project Manager for Mars Express. "Both are significant achievements, two more 'firsts' for Mars Express and the Mars exploration rovers."

Jennifer Trosper, Spirit Mission Manager at NASA's Jet Propulsion Laboratory, California, USA, said, "We have an international interplanetary communications network established at Mars."

ESA and NASA planned this demonstration as part of continuing efforts to cooperate in space.

The commands for the rover were first transferred from Spirit's operations team at JPL to ESA's European Space Operations Centre in Darmstadt, Germany, where they were translated into commands for Mars Express. The translated commands were transmitted to Mars Express, which used them to command Spirit. Spirit used its ultra-high-frequency antenna to transmit telemetry information to Mars Express, and the orbiter then relayed the data back to JPL via the European Space Operations Centre.

"This is excellent news," said JPL's Richard Horttor, project manager for NASA's roles in Mars Express. "The communication sessions between Mars Express and Spirit were pristine. Not a single bit of data was missing or added, and there were no duplications."

This exercise demonstrates the increased flexibility and capabilities of inter-agency cooperation and highlights the close mutual support that is essential when undertaking international space exploration.

[GioFX]

Olympus Mons - the caldera in close-up

11 February 2004


Complex caldera of Olympus Mons - Mars Express

View from overhead of the complex caldera (summit crater) at the summit of Olympus Mons on Mars, the highest volcano in our Solar System.

Olympus Mons has an average elevation of 22 km and the caldera has a depth of about 3 km. This is the first high-resolution colour image of the complete caldera of Olympus Mons.
The image was taken from a height of 273 km during orbit 37 by the High Resolution Stereo Camera (HRSC) on ESA’s Mars Express on 21 January 2004. The view is centred at 18.3°N and 227°E. The image is about 102 km across with a resolution of 12 m per pixel. South is at the top.


Detail of the southern part of the caldera in perspective - Mars Express

image has been calculated from the digital elevation model derived from the stereo channels and combined with the nadir- and colour-channels of the Mars Express HRSC.
The scene reveals tongue-shaped mass-movement features in 3D on the southern wall. The striations are tectonic faults. After lava production has ceased the caldera collapsed over the emptied magma chamber. Through the collapse the surface suffers from extension and so extensional fractures are formed. The elevation level on which these fractures can be observed represents the event of the oldest caldera collapse. Later lava production has produced new caldera collapses at different locations (the other circular depressions), they partly destroyed the circular fracture pattern of the oldest one.

The data has been retrieved from a height of 273 km during orbit 37 on 21 January 2004. The view is centred at 18.3°N and 227°E. The image is about 40 km across. The vertical exaggeration is 1.8. South is up to allow the mass-movement features to be seen.

[gpc]

Gio batti la fiacca

http://www.esa.int/SPECIALS/Mars_Exp...XE1PGQD_0.html

Behind the lens...


The High Resolution Stereo Camera (HRSC)

13 February 2004
This is the camera behind the stunning European imagery from Mars. The High Resolution Stereo Camera on ESA’s Mars Express is now mapping most of the Martian surface with unprecedented detail.

The HRSC was originally designed for the Russian Mars ’96 space mission. After an unsuccessful launch in November 1996, the back-up model of the camera was modified for use on the European Mars Express mission. Another version, the HRSC-AX, has been built for airborne high-resolution 3D Earth reconnaissance and has already been used in a large number of projects.

The main part of the HRSC, the Camera Head, has a resolution of 10 metres per pixel at an altitude of 250 kilometres, the point of closest approach to Mars. The Super Resolution Channel (SRC) part is the high resolving channel with a resolution of down to 2.3 metres per pixel. The whole unit measures only 515 mm by 300 mm. SRC images will provide the most detailed information about areas of special interest, for example the examination of future landing sites.
The imaging electronics of the HRSC are based on the principle of a ‘linescan’ camera. This means only a line is exposed to the light, and not an area (like on ordinary 35 mm film). One CCD line of the HRSC consists of 5184 light-sensitive cells (pixels). The HRSC has nine of these lines, one for each imaging channel. The CCD exposure time is adjusted to match the ground velocity of the spacecraft.


Three channels are sensitive to the spectral ranges of red, green and blue. Another one obtains data in near-infrared. Then there are three stereo channels which are used to the digital terrain models – these take angled views to get a downward, backward and a forward-view of the surface.

From these different views, you can derive three-dimensional images. The last two channels are two photometric channels, giving data for the physical analysis of the Martian surface.

The SRC is the second part of the HRSC camera system and uses an area sensor. This means the light intensity is measured by a matrix of 1024 by 1032 elements. This produces a picture of 1024 x 1032 pixels and, from an altitude of 250 kilometres, this corresponds to a square on the Martian surface with sides of length 2.35 kilometres, each pixel representing 2.3 metres.

Normally, the main camera and the SRC work simultaneously, because of the difficulty in locating the SRC images on the Martian surface. The high-resolution SRC images are nested in the HRSC strips, giving very detailed information about areas of special interest.

[gpc]

http://www.esa.int/SPECIALS/Mars_Exp...JQ1PGQD_0.html

What do the colours mean?


18 February 2004
How do you display a picture of Mars taken with an electronic eye, capable of seeing wavelengths of light that are invisible to humans? Welcome to the wonderful world of ‘false’ colour…

The first trio of images from the OMEGA instrument on ESA's Mars Express, released on 23 January 2004, showed some colourful views of Mars’ south polar ice cap. That is mainly because two of the images were taken at infrared wavelengths that defy easy translation into colour. So, they were displayed in ‘false’ colour.


Martian polar ice cap viewed in 'normal' visible light

William Smith, the British ‘father’ of geology, introduced false colour to science in the 1800s. He wanted to draw a map of Great Britain to show the different types of rock that could be found across its surface and decided to colour code the rocks.
The colours were not intended to represent the true colours of the rocks, but simply to act as a key to identifying them. Political maps of the world also use of false colour, clearly showing the boundaries between countries because of the sudden change of colour.


OMEGA image of the southern polar cap of Mars 18 January

The OMEGA images here show a visible light image of the Martian south pole (far right). This is a traditional combination of red, blue and green wavelengths that all computers and televisions use to make full-colour images.

The other two images, the middle one showing the distribution of carbon dioxide ice and the left-hand image showing the distribution of water ice are falsely coloured.


Both ice images are made from infrared radiation reflected by the surface of Mars. Because carbon dioxide and water absorb and reflect characteristically different wavelengths of infrared, OMEGA can identify each chemical compound by looking at the missing parts of the spectra received back from the surface.


The astronomers then used false colour to show how much ice had been detected at the polar cap. The colour scale is blue to red. The bluer the area, the more carbon dioxide ice in the middle image and, in the left-hand image, the more water ice. Red areas are deficient and yellow areas are intermediate zones.

Comparing the pictures, the wide yellow expanse on the left-hand image shows that the water ice is more widespread than the carbon dioxide ice. The carbon dioxide ice collects mostly in the blue peak of the middle image.


With this early success, OMEGA’s Principal Investigator Dr Jean-Pierre Bibring, Institut d’Astrophysique Spatiale, France, is looking forward to the rest of mission. He says, “Our goal now is to map the whole planet.”

So, as William Smith’s 1815 map of Great Britain helped show the mineral wealth of England, Wales and Scotland, so OMEGA will eventually show the distribution of minerals and rock types across the surface of Mars. Like its predecessor, it too will be presented in glorious ‘false’ colour.

[gpc]

http://www.esa.int/SPECIALS/Mars_Exp...BP1PGQD_0.html

Kasei Vallis


Kasei Vallis

18 February 2004
This vertical view shows the mouth of Kasei Vallis, one of the largest outflow channels on Mars, taken by Mars Express.

The image was taken by the High Resolution Stereo Camera (HRSC) on board Mars Express during orbit 61 from an altitude of 272 km. The resolution is 12 metres per pixel. The image centre is located at 29.8° north and 309° east, the image width is 130 km, North is up.
The part of the outflow channel seen in this image has most probably been carved by glaciers or gigantic water-related outflows known from terrestrial subglacial lakes. The blackish-blue colour is related to sediments. The bright streaks oriented NE-SW are related to wind forces.

This image shows various details which give an insight into the erosional history of the outflow channel. The image also illustrates how difficult it is to achieve near-true colour in images of Mars when atmospheric dust and haze have a major disturbing influence on the scene.


Composite showing the location of Kasei Vallis

[GioFX]

grazie gp...

[gpc]

Originariamente inviato da GioFX
grazie gp...

Ma si figuri
Dai adesso ti aggiorno un pochino anche quelli sui rover che vedo che si alle prese le rosette...

[GioFX]

Originariamente inviato da gpc
Ma si figuri
Dai adesso ti aggiorno un pochino anche quelli sui rover che vedo che si alle prese le rosette...

roseeeetteeee...

[GioFX]

"piccoli" pannelli solari, di Rosetta...

[gpc]

Ma sono quelli del Mars Express??

[GioFX]

Originariamente inviato da gpc
Ma sono quelli del Mars Express??

no ho sbagliato scusa...

[gpc]

Originariamente inviato da GioFX
no ho sbagliato scusa...

Vedi che nemmeno tu riesci più a star dietro ai tuoi thread?
Dai rispondimi nell'altro che ho bisogno di un consiglio, quello dello Spirit...