February 1, 2021
Categories: Mars, Space

The CaSSIS camera onboard the ExoMars Trace Gas Orbiter has captured its 20 000th image of Mars! The image, taken on 13 December 2020, features Solis Dorsum, a segment of a prominent wrinkle ridge system in a vast volcanic plateau, known as Tharsis.

Wrinkle ridges are tectonic features that form in layered basalt lavas due to loading and flexure of the planet’s crust and upper mantle. These tectonic stresses are caused by the planet’s interior cooling and subsequent contraction. The study of wrinkle ridges, and in particular their distribution and orientation, can reveal details of the complex and dynamic geological history of Mars.

The ExoMars-2022 mission is the second stage of Roscosmos largest international project together with the European Space Agency to explore Mars, its surface and subsurface layer in the immediate area of the landing site, conducting geological research and searching for possible traces of life existance on the planet. The mission will open a new stage of space exploration for the world scientific community.

NPO Lavochkin (part of Roscosmos) is the general contractor and coordinator from the Russian side, as well as the designer and manufacturer of the descent module with the landing platform. The mission is planned to launch during the launch window in September-October 2022. This period was selected taking into account the ballistic conditions that allow launching a spacecraft from Earth to Mars every two years.

More from this category:
July 19, 2021

The support Russian government gives to negotiations regarding delivery of Russian rocket engines to US will enable to maintain mutually beneficial cooperation, – Roscosmos reports….

full story
July 23, 2021

On July 21, 2021 at 14:58:24.938 UTC, the Proton-M carrier rocket launched with the Nauka Multipurpose Laboratory Module from pad No. 39 of Site 200…

full story
July 26, 2021

According to the schedule Pirs module will undock from the ISS on July 26, – Roscosmos reports. The undocking is planned for 13.56, Moscow time….

full story
April 22, 2021

The Soyuz-2.1b launch vehicle with the Fregat upper stage and 36 OneWeb communications satellites was rolled out from the Assembly and Test Facility. The launch…

full story
April 22, 2019

On April 19 the Gagarin Cosmonaut Training Center was visited by the delegation of the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia, headed by Dr. Salah Khalid K….

full story
February 19, 2014

Cygnus private cargo spacecraft that flew to the ISS in mid-January was undocked from the American Harmony module to perform controlled flight, – NASA representative…

full story
June 4, 2015

The newest Russian heavy booster Angara-A5 will insert commercial satellite in the orbit during the next launch scheduled for 2016,- Khrunichev Centre Head Andrei Kalinovsky…

full story
April 23, 2014

Progress M-21M cargo vehicle was undocked from the ISS  up to April 25 to check Kurs-NA modernized docking and approaching system, – Mission Control Centre…

full story