The European Space Agency Arrival at Mars and the Schiaparelli Crash Landing
On October 19, 2016, the European Space Agency’s ExoMars mission arrived at Mars, marking a complex milestone for European deep-space exploration, Space reported. The mission consisted of the Trace Gas Orbiter and the Schiaparelli lander, which traveled through space together before separating on October 16—just three days prior to orbital insertion and planetary descent. While the Trace Gas Orbiter entered orbit around Mars, the Schiaparelli lander crashed into the ground after officials suspecting it did not fire its descent thrusters as designed, with a data glitch cited as its cause.
The Dual Objectives of the March 2016 Launch
Launched in March 2016, the ExoMars 2016 campaign was designed as a collaborative effort between the European Space Agency and Russia to fulfill two primary operational goals. First, the Schiaparelli demonstrator module was tasked with proving out atmospheric entry, descent, and landing architecture required for the subsequent ExoMars rover. Second, the Trace Gas Orbiter was engineered to establish a stable communications relay while simultaneously analyzing the Martian atmosphere for methane signatures that could indicate biological activity.
Data retrieved by NASA’s Mars Reconnaissance Orbiter later mapped the debris field, identifying the jettisoned parachute and the impact crater.
Ten Years of Atmospheric Analysis by the Trace Gas Orbiter
Despite the failure of the lander, agency officials ultimately categorized the 2016 mission as 96 percent successful due to the nominal performance of the orbiter. The Trace Gas Orbiter continues its scientific mission a decade later, circling the planet to trace atmospheric constituents. Meanwhile, the broader ExoMars program faced cascading geopolitical and technical delays. The planned launch of the Rosalind Franklin rover was disrupted after the European Space Agency severed its cooperative partnership with Russia following the invasion of Ukraine, which also eliminated access to the intended Russian Proton launch vehicle.
The Shift Toward a 2028 Launch Window
Current mission timelines project that the ExoMars rover will launch no earlier than 2028, with a targeted Martian surface touchdown expected in 2030. Concurrently, other space agencies continue to target the Martian system, with the Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency pursuing the Martian Moons eXploration mission to land a probe on Phobos and return samples to Earth.
