Earth_Magazine_October_2017

Recent and Upcoming Mars Missions by Launch Window

Launch Date Mission Name (Agency) Probe Type Mission End Notes

)IGȦȦȦȟȟȁ Mars Climate Orbiter (NASA) Orbiter ITXȶȴȦȟȟȟ Lost on arrival at Mars

/ERȴȦȟȟȟ 2EVW5SPEV1ERHIV)IITTEGIȶ

3&& 1ERHIVMQTEGXTVSFIW )IGȴȦȟȟȟ Lost on arrival at Mars

&TVMPȮȶȉȉȦ Mars Odyssey (NASA) Oribter Ongoing 5PERRIHQMWWMSRHYVEXMSR[EWȴ]IEVW

/YRIȶȶȉȉȴ 2EVW*\TVIWW

*&'IEKPIȶ

3EXMSREP

TEGI(IRXIV90

4VFMXIVPERHIV Ongoing (orbiter)

)IGȶȍȶȉȉȴ

PERHIV

5PERRIH2EVW*\TVIWWQMWWMSRHYVEXMSR[EWȴȮȍ]IEVW'IEKPIȶ

lost on arrival at Mars

/YRIȦȉȶȉȉȴ Mars Exploration Rover-A/Spirit (NASA) Rover 2EVGLȶȶȶȉȦȉ 5PERRIHQMWWMSRHYVEXMSR[EWȴQSRXLW

/YP]Ȯȶȉȉȴ Mars Exploration Rover-B/Opportunity (NASA) Rover Ongoing 5PERRIHQMWWMSRHYVEXMSR[EWȴQSRXLW

&YKȦȶȶȉȉȍ Mars Reconnaissance Orbiter (NASA) Orbiter Ongoing 5PERRIHQMWWMSRHYVEXMSR[EWȶ]IEVW

3SZȁȶȉȦȦ Fobos-Grunt (Roscosmos)=MRKLYSȦ

(LMRE3EXMSREPTEGI&HQMRMWXVEXMSRLander (on Phobos)Orbiter 3SZȁȶȉȦȦ +SFSW,VYRXERH=MRKLYSȦ[IVIWITEVEXIQMWWMSRWPEaboard the same rocket that failed to leave Earth's orbitYRGLIH

3SZȶȰȶȉȦȦ Mars Science Laboratory/Curiosity (NASA) Rover Ongoing 5PERRIHQMWWMSRHYVEXMSR[EWȶ]IEVW

3SZȍȶȉȦȴ Mars Orbiter Mission/Mangalyaan (ISRO) Orbiter Ongoing 5PERRIHQMWWMSRHYVEXMSR[EWȰQSRXLW

3SZȦȁȶȉȦȴ MAVEN (NASA) Orbiter Ongoing 5PERRIHQMWWMSRHYVEXMSR[EWȦ]IEV

2E]ȍȶȉȦȁ InSight (NASA)Mars Cube One (NASA) LanderFlyby ---- 5PERRIHQMWWMSRHYVEXMSRMWȶ]IEVWRelay telemetry from InSight; technology demonstration

/YP]ȶȍȶȉȶȉ *\S2EVWȶȉȶȉ

*&7SWGSWQSW 7SZIVPERHIV -- 5PERRIHQMWWMSRHYVEXMSRWEVIbȰQSRXLW

VSZIVERHȦ]IEV

PERHIV

/YP]&YKȶȉȶȉ 2EVWȶȉȶȉ7SZIV

3&& Rover -- 5PERRIHQMWWMSRHYVEXMSRMWȶ]IEVW

/YP]&YKȶȉȶȉ Hope (UAE Space Agency) Orbiter -- 5PERRIHQMWWMSRHYVEXMSRMWȶ]IEVW

/YP]&YKȶȉȶȉ 242ȶ2ERKEP]EERȶ

.74 4VFMXIVPERHIVVSZIV --

/YP]&YKȶȉȶȉ Unnamed Chinese mission 4VFMXIVPERHIVVSZIV --

/YP]&YKȶȉȶȉ Red Dragon (SpaceX) Lander --

2EVGLȦȏȶȉȦȰ *\S2EVWȶȉȦȰ8VEGI,EW4VFMXIV

8,4

Schiaparelli (ESA/Roscosmos)

4VFMXIVPERHIV Ongoing (orbiter)

4GXȦȟȶȉȦȰ

PERHIV

8,4TPERRIHWGMIRGIGSQQYRMGEXMSRWQMWWMSRHYVEXMSRMWȰ]IEVW 

Schiaparelli lander lost on arrival

&YKȏȶȉȉȮ Phoenix (NASA) Lander 3SZȦȉȶȉȉȁ 5PERRIHQMWWMSRHYVEXMSR[EWȴQSRXLW

3SQMWWMSRWPEYRGLIHMRXLIȶȉȉȟ[MRHS[

• Planned mission durations are post-arrival


• Launch dates for upcoming missions are tentative

of the Trace Gas Orbiter (TGO) in 2016, which is

meant to sniff out faint signs of methane and other

gases in the atmosphere. The Schiaparelli lander, sent

in tandem with TGO, crashed to Mars’ surface after

suffering navigation errors that caused its computer

to prematurely release its parachute and prevented

its thrusters from operating correctly. In addition

to a rover, ExoMars 2020 includes a heavily instru-

mented surface lander intended to study the climate,

subsurface and ground-atmosphere interactions.

With its orbiter, named “Hope,” the United Arab

Emirates (UAE) aims to send the first Arab-led

mission to Mars. The orbiter will carry cameras

and spectrometers to study gas escaping from Mars’

atmosphere. The UAE Space Agency says the craft

will also be Mars’ “first true weather satellite,” mon-

itoring daily and seasonal weather and climate, and

investigating how these are affected by topography

and interactions among different atmospheric layers.

In developing the Hope mission, the young agency

— created in late 2014 — has signed agreements

with France, Kazakhstan, Russia, the U.K. and the

U.S., pledging cooperation and data sharing. And

an agreement with Japan should see Hope launched

from that country’s Tanegashima Space Center.

Missions from China and India are also possible,

although the countries’ respective space agencies

have not shared much information publicly about

these efforts. China, whose ambitions in space have

grown rapidly of late with a series of missions to

the moon along with satellites studying quantum

communications and other phenomena, offered

some details last year about its second Mars attempt.

The aspiring 2020 mission is meant to include a

trio of probes: an orbiter, lander and rover. The

latter will be designed to last three Martian months

and carry “13 payloads, including a remote sensing

camera and a ground penetrating radar, which

could be used to study the soil, environment and

atmosphere of Mars, as well as the planet’s physical

fields, the distribution of water and ice, and its inner

structure,” according to China’s state-sponsored

Xinhua News Agency.

After India’s success in reaching Mars in 2014 on its

first attempt with the Mars Orbiter Mission (MOM)

— tempered partially by an ill-designed methane

sensor — the Indian Space Research Organization

(ISRO) is considering a follow-up mission, report-

edly with France’s help, but details are scant. The

agency issued an “Announcement of Opportunity”

TEKIȶȁ•4GXSFIVȶȉȦȮ• EARTH • [[[IEVXLQEKE^MRISVK

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