Editing ExoMars (section)

{{Short description|Astrobiology programme}}
{{Use dmy dates|date=October 2019}}
{{Use British English|date=October 2016}}
{{Infobox spaceflight
| name               = ''ExoMars''
<!--image of the spacecraft/mission-->| image              = ExoMars ESA.jpg
| image_caption      = Artist's illustration of ExoMars's Trace Gas Orbiter (left), ''Schiaparelli'' lander (middle), and rover (right)
| image_alt          = Image depicting the three spacecraft of the mission, an orbiter at left, lander at center, and rover at right, against a Martian landscape and sky.
| image_size         = 300px

<!--Basic details-->| mission_type       = Mars reconnaissance
| operator           = [[European Space Agency|ESA]]
| mission_duration   = Trace Gas Orbiter: {{time interval|March 14, 2016}} (in progress)<br/> Schiaparelli: {{time interval|March 14, 2016
|October 2016}}
| website            = {{URL|http://www.esa.int/exomars}} (ESA)
| insignia           = File:ExoMars insignia.png
| insignia_caption   = ''ExoMars'' ESA mission insignia
| insignia_alt       = 
| insignia_size      = 150px
}}

'''ExoMars''' (Exobiology on Mars) is an [[astrobiology]] programme of the [[European Space Agency]] (ESA).

The goals of ExoMars are to search for signs of past [[life on Mars]],<ref name="NYT-20160912">{{cite news |last=Chang |first=Kenneth |title=Visions of Life on Mars in Earth's Depths |url=https://www.nytimes.com/2016/09/13/science/south-african-mine-life-on-mars.html |date=12 September 2016 |work=The New York Times |access-date=12 September 2016}}</ref><ref>{{cite journal | doi=10.1089/ast.2016.1533 | title=Habitability on Early Mars and the Search for Biosignatures with the ExoMars Rover | year=2017 | last1=Vago | first1=Jorge L. | last2=Westall | first2=Frances | last3=Pasteur Instrument Teams, Landing s | last4=Coates | first4=Andrew J. | last5=Jaumann | first5=Ralf | last6=Korablev | first6=Oleg | last7=Ciarletti | first7=Valérie | last8=Mitrofanov | first8=Igor | last9=Josset | first9=Jean-Luc | last10=De Sanctis | first10=Maria Cristina | last11=Bibring | first11=Jean-Pierre | last12=Rull | first12=Fernando | last13=Goesmann | first13=Fred | last14=Steininger | first14=Harald | last15=Goetz | first15=Walter | last16=Brinckerhoff | first16=William | last17=Szopa | first17=Cyril | last18=Raulin | first18=François | last19=Westall | first19=Frances | last20=Edwards | first20=Howell G. M. | last21=Whyte | first21=Lyle G. | last22=Fairén | first22=Alberto G. | last23=Bibring | first23=Jean-Pierre | last24=Bridges | first24=John | last25=Hauber | first25=Ernst | last26=Ori | first26=Gian Gabriele | last27=Werner | first27=Stephanie | last28=Loizeau | first28=Damien | last29=Kuzmin | first29=Ruslan O. | last30=Williams | first30=Rebecca M. E. | journal=Astrobiology | volume=17 | issue=6–7 | pages=471–510 | pmid=31067287 | pmc=5685153 | bibcode=2017AsBio..17..471V | display-authors=1 }}</ref> investigate how the Martian water and geochemical environment varies, investigate atmospheric trace gases and their sources and, by doing so, demonstrate the technologies for a future [[Mars sample-return mission]].<ref>{{cite web |url=http://exploration.esa.int/mars/46048-programme-overview/ |title=The ExoMars Programme 2016–2018 |work=European Space Agency (ESA) |date=2015 |access-date=16 March 2016}}</ref>

The first part of the programme is a mission launched in 2016 that placed the [[Trace Gas Orbiter]] into Mars orbit and released the [[Schiaparelli EDM|''Schiaparelli'' EDM lander]]. The orbiter is operational but the lander crashed on the planet's surface. The second part of the programme was planned to launch in July 2020, when the ''[[Kazachok]]'' lander would have delivered the [[Rosalind Franklin (rover)|''Rosalind Franklin'' rover]] on the surface, supporting a [[Exploration of Mars|science mission]] that was expected to last into 2022 or beyond.<ref name="NYT-20161019">{{cite news |last=Chang |first=Kenneth |title=ExoMars Mission to Join Crowd of Spacecraft at Mars |url=https://www.nytimes.com/2016/10/20/science/esa-mars-lander.html |date=19 October 2016 |work=[[The New York Times]] |access-date=19 October 2016 }}</ref><ref name="ESA signed">{{cite news |title=ExoMars: ESA and Roscosmos set for Mars missions |date=14 March 2013 |url=http://www.esa.int/Our_Activities/Space_Science/ExoMars_ESA_and_Roscosmos_set_for_Mars_missions |work=European Space Agency (ESA)}}</ref><ref name="On track">{{cite news |first=Jonathan |last=Amos |title=Europe |date=18 June 2013 |url=https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/science-environment-22914025 |work=BBC News}}</ref> On 12 March 2020, it was announced that the second mission was being delayed to 2022 as a result of problems with the parachutes, which could not be resolved in time for the launch window.

The [[Trace Gas Orbiter]] (TGO) and a test stationary lander called [[Schiaparelli EDM|''Schiaparelli'']] were launched on 14 March 2016.<ref name="NYT-20160314" /> TGO entered Mars orbit on 19 October 2016 and proceeded to map the sources of [[Methane on Mars|methane]] ({{chem2|CH4}}) and other trace gases present in the Martian atmosphere that could be evidence for possible biological or geological activity. The TGO features four instruments and will also act as a communications relay satellite. The ''Schiaparelli'' experimental lander separated from TGO on 16 October and was maneuvered to land in [[Meridiani Planum]], but it crashed on the surface of Mars.<ref name="NYT-20161021">{{cite news |last=Chang |first=Kenneth |title=Dark Spot in Mars Photo Is Probably Wreckage of European Spacecraft |url=https://www.nytimes.com/2016/10/22/science/mars-crash-landing-site-explosion.html |date=21 October 2016 |work=The New York Times |access-date=21 October 2016 }}</ref> The landing was designed to test new key technologies to safely deliver the subsequent rover mission.<ref name="AP-20140327">{{cite news |last=Katz |first=Gregory |title=2018 mission: Mars rover prototype unveiled in UK |url=http://apnews.excite.com/article/20140327/DACQ6UHG0.html |date=27 March 2014 |agency=[[AP News]] |work=Excite News |access-date=29 March 2014 |archive-date=7 April 2014 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140407083253/http://apnews.excite.com/article/20140327/DACQ6UHG0.html |url-status=dead }}</ref>

In June 2023, a Roscosmos lander named ''[[Kazachok]]'' ("little Cossack", referring to a folk dance),<ref name="SPC-20190321">{{cite news |last=Wall |first=Mike |title=Meet 'Kazachok': Landing Platform for ExoMars Rover Gets a Name – In 2021, Rosalind Franklin will roll off Kazachok onto the red dirt of Mars. |url=https://www.space.com/russian-exomars-lander-name-kazachok.html |date=21 March 2019 |work=[[Space.com]] |access-date=21 March 2019 }}</ref> was due to deliver the ESA [[Rosalind Franklin (rover)|''Rosalind Franklin'' rover]] to the Martian surface.<ref name="ESA signed" /><ref name="LaunchMoved2020">{{cite press release|url=http://www.esa.int/For_Media/Press_Releases/Second_ExoMars_mission_moves_to_next_launch_opportunity_in_2020|title=N° 11–2016: Second ExoMars mission moves to next launch opportunity in 2020|publisher=[[ESA]]|date=2 May 2016|access-date=2 May 2016}}</ref><ref name="still keen">{{cite news |first=Jonathan |last=Amos |title=Europe still keen on Mars missions |date=15 March 2012 |url=https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/science-environment-17390576 |work=BBC News}}</ref><ref name="Selding">{{cite news |first=Peter B. |last=de Selding |title=ESA Ruling Council OKs ExoMars Funding |date=15 March 2012 |url=http://www.spacenews.com/civil/120315-esa-council-oks-exomars.html |archive-url=https://archive.today/20121206010858/http://www.spacenews.com/civil/120315-esa-council-oks-exomars.html |url-status=dead |archive-date=6 December 2012 |work=Space News}}</ref> The rover would also include some Roscosmos built instruments. The second mission operations and communications would have been led by [[Aerospace Logistics Technology Engineering Company|ALTEC]]'s Rover Control Centre in Italy.<ref name="ALTEC's role in ExoMars">{{cite web |url=http://www.altecspace.it/en/programs/planetary-exploration/exomars |title=ALTEC's role in ExoMars |access-date=18 February 2016 |work=ALTEC website |archive-date=13 July 2018 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180713165854/https://www.altecspace.it/en/programs/planetary-exploration/exomars |url-status=dead }}</ref>

On 17 March 2022, ESA suspended the mission due to the ongoing [[2022 Russian invasion of Ukraine|invasion of Ukraine by Russia]].<ref>{{Cite web |title=ExoMars suspended |url=https://www.esa.int/Newsroom/Press_Releases/ExoMars_suspended |access-date=2022-03-17 |website=www.esa.int |language=en}}</ref> ESA expects that a restart of the mission, using a new non-Russian landing platform, is unlikely to launch before 2028.<ref name="sn-20220503">{{cite web |last=Foust |first=Jeff |url=https://spacenews.com/exomars-official-says-launch-unlikely-before-2028/ |title=ExoMars official says launch unlikely before 2028 |work=[[SpaceNews]] |date=3 May 2022 |access-date=5 May 2022}}</ref> As of April 2024, the mission has received new funding to restart construction and delivery of the Rosalind Franklin rover and NASA has agreed to provide the launch, currently scheduled for late 2028.<ref name=":0">{{Cite web |last=Foust |first=Jeff |date=2024-04-10 |title=ESA awards contract to Thales Alenia Space to restart ExoMars |url=https://spacenews.com/esa-awards-contract-to-thales-alenia-space-to-restart-exomars/ |access-date=2024-04-11 |website=SpaceNews |language=en-US}}</ref>