ExoMars Trace Gas Orbiter

This member of the ExoMars team is a vital component in the hunt for methane in the Red Planet’s atmosphere

- Hakan Svedhem

Mission type Orbiter

Operator European Space Agency and Roscosmos

Launch date 14 March 2016

Target Mars

Arrival at target 19 October 2016

Primary objective Analyse the trace gases in Mars’ atmosphere

Status Operational

ExoMars is a collaborative effort between the European Space Agency (ESA) and Russia’s Roscosmos. Launched in March 2016, the Trace Gas Orbiter (TGO) is part of the first instalment of an extensive exploratory mission, a venture that also includes the Rosalind Franklin rover, scheduled for touchdown on Mars in mid-2023. Accompanying the TGO was the descent module named Schiaparelli.

The TGO swung into Martian orbit on 19 October 2016 and, soon after arrival, Schiaparelli detached from the orbiter and began its journey to the surface. This module was created to demonstrate how a robotic lander could enter, descend and land on the surface of Mars. However, this demonstration was unsuccessful as conflicting information in the module’s computer led to a crash landing. While Schiaparelli was demonstrating how not to land on the surface, the TGO was preparing itself for a new level of atmospheric analysis.