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ESA's ExoMars Schiaparelli lander lost

B.J.

B.J.

Rear Admiral
Rear Admiral
Looks like they lost the signal after the parachute deployed, just one minute before landing. But the mothership (apparently the larger and more important part of this mission) is in orbit and okay. This was supposed to be at least partially a test run for a 2020 ExoMars rover landing, and they do say the test was largely successful, so that won't put the rover mission into jeopardy.

So yes, a failure, but not a complete one. No idea in what kind of shape they'll eventually find the lander.

https://www.theguardian.com/science...signal-one-minute-before-landing-esa-confirms
http://www.cnn.com/2016/10/20/europe/mars-schiaparelli-lander-esa-lost/index.html

https://twitter.com/ESA_ExoMars
http://www.esa.int/Our_Activities/Space_Science/ExoMars
 
The parachute was jettisoned too early and the landing rockets fired for 3 seconds instead of 30 seconds so the lander likely hit the surface at a speed well beyond what it could tolerate. Seems like a programming error but that's just a guess. The orbiter is apparently functioning perfectly so it should be able to perform its mission, including looking for sources of atmospheric methane. The lander was effectively a practise run for a later rover mission so hopefully any mistakes can be avoided for that lander.
 
I'm not fond of all these loaded words. For me, the spacecraft experienced an anomaly during parachute jettison and propulsion cut-off.
 
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