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Rendezvous in space

Space scientists at Oxfordshire’s Rutherford Appleton Laboratory (RAL) are looking forward to an exciting rendezvous between two European Space Agency satellites. On Sunday (25 February 2007) Mars Express will be visited by the Rosetta satellite as it swings by Mars on its way to study Comet Churyumov-Gerasimenko. The visit by Rosetta marks the start of Mars Express’ fourth year of routine operations, and provides a unique opportunity for coordinated observations of Mars and its environment by the two satellites. The Mars swing-by will also give Rosetta a gravity-assist to pick up speed on its way to the comet, similar to the way in which a slingshot is used to release a stone.

The HRSC camera continues to send back amazing pictures, most recently a patch of water ice in a crater near the Martian north pole.

Mars Express science operations

The European Space Agency (ESA) launched the Mars Express satellite from Russia on 2 June 2003. STFC Rutherford Appleton Laboratory is home to the Mars Express Payload Operations Service , which helps the Mars Express scientists across Europe plan their observations of Mars and sends the sets of commands to the European Space Operations Centre in Germany for uplink to Mars Express orbiting Mars. All the instruments on Mars Express are working well.

There are seven instruments on Mars Express:

ASPERA: Energetic Neutral Atoms Analyser – this will study the energetic ions, electrons and atoms in Mars outer atmosphere, and show how they interact with the solar wind. RAL scientists are members of this Swedish-led team - ASPERA home page

HRSC: High Resolution Stereo Camera – this can image the surface in full colour and in 3D.

MaRS: Mars Radio Science Experiment – this uses the radio signals between Earth and Mars Express to probe the planet’s ionosphere, atmosphere, surface and even the interior. When Mars appears close to the Sun, as seen from Earth, MaRS can also probe the Sun's atmosphere (the corona).

MARSIS: Sub-Surface Sounding Radar Altimeter – the instrument’s 40 metre antenna will investigate the depth of the sand, sediment, and look for sub-surface ice or water. Its radar signals can also probe Mars' ionosphere.

OMEGA: Visible and Infrared Mineralogical Mapping Spectrometer – this will build up a map of surface composition looking at rocks and clays.

PFS: Planetary Fourier Spectrometer – this will study the composition of the atmosphere, especially looking at the pressure and temperature profile of carbon dioxide, the major component of Mars atmosphere.

SPICAM: Ultraviolet and Infrared Atmospheric Spectrometer – this will study the composition of the atmosphere, especially looking at water vapour and ozone.

These instruments will map the entire surface of Mars, produce a map of the mineral composition of the surface, map the composition of the atmosphere and determine its global circulation, determine the effect of the atmosphere on the surface, and determine the interaction of the atmosphere with the solar wind.

After more than six months in orbit around Mars, the instruments have sent back many exciting images and scientific data. There are pictures of the giant (extinct volcano) Olympus Mons which is 25 km high with a caldera 65km across. There is evidence of dust being blown off the edge of a crater, and the wind-blown sand-striped features called yardangs on the surface. Mars Express has imaged several of the deep valleys on Mars, and found evidence of flooding at the Mangala Valles. Mars Express has found evidence of water ice at both the North and South Poles of Mars. The satellite also passes close to Mars two moons, Phobos and Deimos, allowing the instruments to study them at close range.

Tuesday, 09, August, 2005