On Mars, there are trace amounts of gases, including methane. On Earth, methane is a result of the activities of organisms, so in the ExoMars mission scientists will check where it comes from on Mars. In their research they will use a camera developed with the participation of Polish researchers.
The ExoMars mission will be carried out by the European Space Agency and the Space Agency of the Russian Federation - Roskosmos. The aim of the mission is to search for biological traces of life on Mars. This groundbreaking project involves scientists from all over Europe, including Polish researchers.
In the ExoMars mission, in 2016 a Russian Proton rocket will carry the lander Schiaparelli EDM towards the Red Planet, with the task to study the meteorological conditions on Mars. Another object in space will be artificial satellite ExoMars Trace Gas Orbiter.
"The ExoMars Trace Gas Orbiter will carry a total of four instruments. Their task will be to determine the amount so-called trace gases coming out from under the surface of Mars, which in very small quantities are present in the atmosphere of the Red Planet" - told PAP Dr. Paweł Wajer of the Space Research Centre PAS. He is a member of the Polish team working on the scientific aspects of the experiment.
In addition to the scientific tasks, Polish scientists will also have a more "technical" job to do. They participated in the preparation of one of the instruments for the ExoMars Trace working on Gas Orbiter - CASSIS camera. "The camera will take pictures of the Martian surface, for example in infrared or near-infrared. The pictures will be taken at an angle of about 10 degrees, then the orbiter will fly a short distance of the orbit and the cam will rotate in seconds. As a result, the same area will be photographed from a different angle to obtain a 3D image" - described Dr. Wajer.
The camera will photograph these areas of Mars, which may emit trace gases. "One of these gases is methane. On Mars, it was found about 10 years ago. On Earth it is produced as a result of the activity of living organisms, so immediately there were speculations whether there was or is life on Mars that causes the formation of this gas. Obviously it can be formed in a manner unrelated to living organisms" - said Dr. Wajer.
He added that this gas is emitted quite quickly, and quite quickly disappears. "There are also no specific sources of its emission. Four instruments placed on the orbiter - interacting with each other - should bring us to solving this puzzle" - he explained.
The CaSSiS camera was built mainly in Switzerland and Italy. "Work is already nearly completed. In September, we took to Switzerland the final power supply, which is now integrated with the camera. In the beginning of next year it will be integrated on the satellite" - told PAP Dr. Piotr Orleański from the Space Research Centre PAS. Also involved in the research project was the company Creotech Instruments, commissioned by the Space Research Centre PAS to install the CaSSiS power system components.
In the next part of the ExoMars mission, images from the camera will help scientists to find a suitable place to land the lander and rover, which in 2018 will be sent into space. The "ExoMars Rover", which will look for signs of biological life on Mars, will be carried to the planet surface by the "ExoMars Rover Lander". If all goes according to plan, they will land on Mars in 2019.
PAP - Science and Scholarship in Poland, Ewelina Krajczyńska
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