Funding: CNES, INSU
Principal investigators: B. Bultel, F. Schmidt, F. Costard
GEOPS staff involved: B. Bultel, F. Schmidt, F. Costard, F. Andrieu, A. Cornillon
Partners: V. Ciarletti (LATMOS), A.C. Vandaele, I. Thomas (BIRA – Belgium)
The ESA’s ExoMars mission comprises two components: the Trace Gas Orbiter (TGO) and the Rosalind Franklin rover.
Our team is involved in these missions. Frédéric Schmidt has been selected by the ESA as a Guest Scientist for the ExoMars TGO. He works primarily with the NOMAD and ACS instruments. François Costard is the Principal Investigator (PI) for the WISDOM radar on Rosalind Franklin. Benjamin Bultel is a member of the Rosalind Franklin Rover Science Operations Working Group (RSOWG). He takes part in mission simulation exercises and analyses of terrestrial sample analogues to prepare for the rover’s mission.
The Rosalind Franklin rover aims to determine the habitability of Mars. Our team is involved in preparing for the mission as well as in understanding the geological context of the landing site. We provide analogue environments in the laboratory’s cold chamber as well as sampling campaigns of analogue rocks.
The ExoMars TGO research project focuses on the Martian surface and, in particular, on the deposits of volatiles (mainly CO₂ and H₂O) present in the polar regions (up to 40° latitude). Seasonal deposits have been proposed as a source/sink of minor chemical species on Mars. They are also involved in Mars’ major climate cycle and are therefore essential for understanding the current climate. Furthermore, the study of volatiles is crucial for calibrating climate models in order to study the past climate. Quantitative spectroscopy from ExoMars.TGO using the NOMAD and ACS instruments in nadir-pointing mode allows us to provide significant new insights into the microphysics of the ice surface.