GMV provides key technology for the Exomars 2016 descent module

On 19 October, the ExoMars 2016 mission will rendezvous with Mars and go into orbit around it, whereupon its Schiaparelli entry, descent and landing demonstrator module will descend to the red planet’s surface.

ExoMars, a joint mission of the ESA and the Russian Space Agency Roscosmos, comprises a Trace Gas Orbiter (TGO), which will look for the presence of methane and other gases (such as water vapor or nitrogen oxides) that might indicate a biological origin, and secondly an entry, descent and landing demonstrator module called Schiaparelli, which will demonstrate Entry Descending and Landing (EDL) technologies on the Martian surface.

After separating from the TGO, Schiaparelli will enter the Martian atmosphere to make a six-minute descent to the Meridiani Planum region. The module will try out a series of controlled descent and landing technologies on Mars to pave the way for future missions, including ExoMars 2020. Schiaparelli, among other elements, is made up by a heat shield, a parachute, a thruster system and a crushable structure, designed to deform and absorb the landing shock.

Schiaparelli also carries a small science payload to record wind speed, humidity, atmospheric pressure and temperature at the landing point; it will also obtain the first ever measurement of the planet’s electric fields at surface level, shedding light on the origin of the planet’s sand storms.

GMV has developed key equipment and technologies for the ExoMars mission 2016, designing and developing the onboard software of the guidance, navigation and control (GNC) system of the Schiaparell entry and descent module. The software developed by GMV will make all navigation calculations on the basis of the data received from the Inertial Measurement Unit (IMU) and other sensors (such as radar or the sun sensor), automatically triggering all Entry Descending and Landing (EDL) phases including controlled entry into the Martian atmosphere, parachute deployment, separation of the heat shield and control of the thrusters for the landing, all to ensure a safe touchdown.

In close collaboration with Thales Alenia Space Italy, GMV has also participated actively in the design of GNC interfaces with the rest of the onboard software and design of the GNC parameter database.

Other activities include software tests at various levels: at subsystem level, by means of unit tests and integration in installations, and at system level, participating actively in system validation on Thales Alenia Space’s Italian site.

Furthermore, as part of the activities carried out within the framework contract of support for ESA’s European Space Operations Centre (ESOC), GMV still holds responsibility for the Flight Dynamics Manager and also participating actively in the mission’s orbital control.

As well as the 2016 mission the ExoMars program also includes a second mission to be launched in 2020. GMV will have an even bigger participation in this 2020 mission, on which it has been working since 2015.