The ESA and the Russian space agency Roskosmos have failed a high-altitude drop test that revolved around the parachute. There were also problems with the parachutes in an earlier test. Perhaps this throws a spanner in the works for the launch in the summer of 2020.
The ESA writes that teams are studying the parachute design more closely after last week’s unsuccessful drop test. The first test took place in Sweden last year, with the largest parachute with a diameter of 35m being successfully deployed and inflated at a height of 1.2km. In May this year, however, there was a setback with a new test. For the first time, the deployment procedure for all four parachutes to be used was tested. That happened at an altitude of 29 km. The release mechanisms worked correctly and the deployment was successful, but there was also damage to the main parachutes.
Before the current failed test on August 5, ESA and Roskosmos made changes to the design. This test revolved around the largest parachute. According to initial reports, the initial steps have been completed successfully, but as with the previous test, the parachute screen suffered damage. This damage occurred before the parachute was blown up, a problem identical to the May test. As a result of the damage, the test module used dropped only on the basis of the low drag of the pilot chute, a small parachute used to deploy the important, large parachute. ExoMars team leader Francois Spoto called the recent failure disappointing, but said his team is working to understand what went wrong and correct the error so that a launch next year is still possible.
Another attempt should be made before the end of this year and the next qualification attempt of the second large parachute should take place sometime early next year. At the same time, the ExoMars team is also exploring the possibility of producing additional parachute models. Tests are also being conducted on the ground to simulate the dynamics of deploying the parachute.
The ExoMars mission is to be launched between July 25 and August 13 next year with a Russian Proton rocket, so that the lander can arrive on Mars in March 2021. An ESA spokesperson told The Verge that there is now no margin for error. This means that if the next test fails again in whole or in part, the launch in the summer of 2020 will probably not be achieved. The mission will probably only be launched again in 2022, because the Earth and Mars will only then have a favorable distance from each other.
The mission consists of a descent module, a Russian Mars surface platform, and an ESA-built Rosalind Franklin rover. Oxia Planum was chosen as the landing location. This area is near the equator of Mars and water is thought to have played a role here in the past. The rover drills into the ground to find out if there ever was life on the planet.
During the landing, missiles will also be deployed in addition to the parachute system. During the first part of the mission, the landing went wrong in 2016. A satellite was successfully launched into orbit around Mars, but the Schiaparelli test rover, intended to demonstrate the landing procedure and associated technology, crashed into the planet at a speed of 540 km/h. This was due to a software error, which caused the height to be misjudged.