The institution collaborates on the ESA mission

Jun 3, 2010 10:07 GMT  ·  By

The ExoMars mission is one of the most important space exploration missions ever devised. Run by the European Space Agency (ESA) in collaboration with NASA, the endeavor will see an impressive rover landing on the surface of Mars within the next decade. As part of efforts to popularize the mission, and gain additional support, experts at the University of Leicester, who are involved in five of the instruments that will equip ExoMars, organized a display at the institution, showcasing an ExoMars development model, called Bridget. The goal was to get students and schoolchildren interested in the design. Also this week, the university celebrates its 50th anniversary of space research.

The current program for the ExoMars mission calls for the instrument software simulators to be set up by next year. Two years later, in 2013, ESA plans to produce the Qualification Model instruments, which will be tested to see if the actual instrument will survive the rigors of a trip to space. The actual scientific tool that will equip the rover, called the Flight Model Instruments, are to be completed by 2014, given that the space agency plans a 2018 launch date. If all goes according to plan, then the rover will touch down in 2019, which is when it will also transmit its first science results.

“ExoMars is a key mission in exploration of the planet Mars. It will attempt to gather samples from a depth 1-2m below the surface where they are protected from radiation and oxidants thought to exist on the surface – both of which would destroy/heavily degrade complex organic compounds. The mission gives the University, and the Space Research Center (SRC) team in particular, the opportunity to explore the chemistry and mineralogy of Mars as well as look at the possibility of life on Mars in the distant past, or even today, and at the same time create world-class science,” says UL professor Mark Sims, the principal investigator of the international team in charge of designing building the ExoMars Life Marker Chip (LMC).

“Because of its innovative work in space instrumentation, which builds upon the SRC expertise in imaging detectors and its interdisciplinary work on sensor systems, the University is providing several instruments. This is a truly exciting opportunity to explore Mars and look for extra-terrestrial life and on Friday 4 June, we are announcing the University of Leicester teams preparing for the ExoMars Flight Model Build program. The University of Leicester and the UK has a major international role in this key mission. The work associated with the ExoMars mission will be a major part of the University's Space Research Center program until launch of the mission in 2018 and after that, with operations and 'new science' on the surface of Mars from 2019,” the expert adds.