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14 March 2016
L ‘Europe flying to Mars . Today from the Baikonur Cosmodrome, in the steppes of Kazakhstan, when Italy was just after 10:30 am, has flown to the Red Planet robotic mission ExoMars (exobiology on Mars), built by the European Space Agency (ESA) collaboration with the Russian agency Roscosmos. A Proton-M rocket aboard the descent module, the landerEntry, Descent and landing demonstrator Module (EDM), together with the orbiter Trace Gas Orbiter (TGO).
Francesca Esposito and Maria Cristina De Sanctis (INAF), Francesca Ferri (University Centre of Studies and Activities for Space “Giuseppe Colombo Padova) are the three protagonists of the Italian joint mission Esa / Roscosmos ExoMars.
it is engaged in the development of instrumentation for space applications, with particular reference to the dust sensor, which varies with the nature and origin is present in great deal in our solar system. There are many tools developed for major projects that have been occupied in this field, remember JADE , on board the ESA space mission Rosetta , MEDUSA for the study of dust in the atmosphere of Mars and evolution of dust storms.
to get to today where it has earned the role of Principal Investigator for the development of the DREAMS tool , aboard the mission ExoMars , realized with the Italian Space Agency support. Francesca has the international coordination of the team that developed a suite of sensors for the measurement of weather conditions and the presence of electric fields (including electric shocks may be present during sandstorms) on Mars. Also it deals with the analysis of data from various space missions to the bodies of the solar system in search of a common thread that clarifies the origin and evolution of the individual planets and the solar system as a whole. CLICK HERE ‘ to FULL INTERVIEW
Maria Cristina De Sanctis, a researcher at dell ‘ Institute for Astrophysics and Space Planetology INAF, Rome is an 
The tools we have always led the laboratory counterparts. It is at times of prototypes that allow us to assess whether the instrument hypothesized actually has the capabilities you would expect, other times of true copies, used to evaluate the performance of the flight instruments or as laboratory instruments themselves. As for solving complicated equations, I also have a strong interest in evolutionary and predictive models based on the solution of these equations … so maybe in return reality in the above stereotype. CLICK HERE ‘ to FULL INTERVIEW
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Here are the tools of the mission and the Italian contribution
ExoMars , a joint mission ESA and Roscosmos with a major contribution of ‘ Italy . The first mission will bring in about nine months on the Red Planet two probes: a mother probe, ExoMars Trace Gas Orbiter (TGO), which will orbit around Mars at an altitude of 400 km to investigate the presence of methane and other gases in the atmosphere, possible indications of the presence of active life and a lander (EDM), called Schiaparelli is in honor of the famous Italian for his studies of Mars, containing the station weather (Dreams) and other instruments. The two probes were carried out in Italy, in Turin laboratories of Thales Alenia Space, a Franco-Italian company that has designed and built.
The vehicle sent to Mars will consist of an orbiter, called the Trace Gas Orbiter (TGO) and a descent module called Entry descent landing Demonstrator module (EDM). The latter is named in honor of Giovanni Schiaparelli Virginio Schiaparelli, considered one of the greatest figures of astronomy Italian 800 and at the same time one of the greatest scholars of the history of science and ancient astronomy. CLICK HERE ‘ for TIMELINE Schiaparelli
Trace Gas Orbiter has four scientific instruments on board: Cassis, a high-resolution color camera (5 m per pixel) can take pictures steroscopiche, two very sophisticated spectrometers (NOMAD and ACD) and a neutron detector (FREND) to observe the hydrogen on the surface and up to one meter deep.
Cassis, the most sophisticated color camera ever sent to Mars. “He has a lower resolution to the HiRISE camera mounted on NASA’s MRO probe” explains Nicholas Thomas, a researcher at the University of Bern who developed the tool in collaboration with the University of Padua. “But the ExoMars system has a higher sensitivity for colors and above all will allow us to realize steroscopiche images with ease, taking up the same place by two opposite angles.” The system is simple: during the same orbit camera rotates 180 degrees to shoot from different angles the same areas of Mars.
DREAMS (Dust characterization, Risk assessment and Environment Analyser on the Martian Surface) sensor suite for the measurement of meteorological parameters (pressure, temperature, humidity, speed and wind direction, solar radiation) and of the atmospheric electric field in the vicinity of the surface of Mars. It will have the opportunity to study the environmental conditions on the planet over the period, particularly interesting, where it is expected a strong presence of dust in the atmosphere (Francesca Esposito INAF / Naples Astronomical Observatory)
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MA_MISS (Mars Multispectral Imager for subsurface Studies) spectrometer for the analysis of geological and biological evolution of the Martian subsurface, inserted into the drill, which will analyze the shape of the inner surface of the drilling performed by the drill itself (Maria Cristina De Sanctis (INAF / IAPS, Rome, Division Avionics and Space Systems of Finmeccanica).
INRRI (Instrument for landing-Roving laser Retroreflector Investigations) microriflettore the Italian Space Agency’s laser (ASI) and the National Institute of Nuclear Physics (INFN) has been made with the scientific supervision of Simone Dell’agnello, physicist of the National Laboratories of Frascati (LNF) INFN.
as big as a small car and weighing 3.7 tons, the orbiter is equipped with a series of tools to make the first comprehensive inventory of atmospheric gases on Mars. ESA has called this test module ‘Schiaparelli’, in honor of Giovanni Virginio Schiaparelli , an astronomer of the nineteenth century, director for almost forty years of ‘ Brera Astronomical Observatory became universally known for his observations of Mars. This recognition underlines the leading role played by our country in ExoMars.
When the first probe will reach Mars next October, the orbiter will perform a series of elliptical paths, to settle back down in a circular orbit about 400 km away from the surface of Mars. Schiaparelli The lander will separate from the orbiter a few days before arrival to the red planet on its surface and glide through the atmosphere at a speed of 21,000 km / h. To slow exploit the atmospheric friction and a parachute, while the final brake will be guaranteed by a dedicated power unit system.
Schiaparelli should survive on the surface of Mars for a limited time in a few days, using the energy supplied by the batteries on board. The limitation is mainly due to the resources of space inside the module, however this time will allow the scientific tools to make many valuable findings.
So far few have been carried out wind measurements from Mars lander who esplorarto the planet. These measurements have shown that the great atmosphere rarefied surrounding Mars rarely exceeding the threshold beyond which the winds are able to set in motion the particles. In addition, the sand dunes ubiquitous on the planet’s surface seemed motionless, and it has long been supposed that may have formed in the past, when the atmosphere was more dense and eventful.
reference Sources: MEDIA INAF – ASI
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