Mars Express Blog

Mars Express Blog http://webservices.esa.int/blog/blog/7 Mars Express is Europe’s first planetary mission. At launch, the mission consisted of an orbiter carrying seven instruments for remote sensing observations of the planet, and a lander (Beagle 2) for on-the-spot measurements of Martian rock and soil. Mars Express started science observations at the Red Planet in January 2004, and since then it has been delivering an incredible amount of scientific results. The ‘Express’ part of the name highlights the fact that the spacecraft was built more quickly than any other comparable planetary mission. In fact, it took only five years from mission approval to launch. In addition to global studies of the surface, subsurface and atmosphere of Mars with unprecedented spatial and spectral resolution, the unifying theme of the Mars Express mission from orbit is the search for water in its various states, everywhere on the planet by all its seven instruments using different techniques. danielscuka 2013-02-11T15:54:49Z Phobos morphing animation by Dan Brennen http://webservices.esa.int/blog/post/7/1321 A few days ago, Dan Brennen, of Elk Grove, California, posted a very nice animation in the <a href="http://www.unmannedspaceflight.com/index.php?showtopic=480&hl=phobos&st=210" target="_blank">UnmannedSpaceflight.com forums</a> and we are delighted to share this below. Dan sent us a description: <blockquote> The animation was created using the sequence of 5 images <a href="http://download.esa.int/esoc/phobos/image5-492-20110120-8974-sequence-05-PhobosFlyby.tif" target="_blank">located here</a> which were scaled down to 1/5 size. A simple morphing program was utilized to create the intermediate images which allow for the appearance of motion. Approximately 30 control points were identified to tell the program where the limb had changed shape and key features on Phobos had moved between images. Each transition from one image to the next contained 200 steps, which was later compressed to 8 frames per second to create the final image file. I'm sure you can guess that the quality would improved with more control points and more precise placement of those control points. But it's quite time consuming, especially with five images. So I did this with less time and effort in order to quickly create an interesting feature for our forum in just an hour or two while I had my Saturday morning coffee. </blockquote>  Thanks, Dan, for some great work! -- Daniel    <a href="http://www.unmannedspaceflight.com/index.php?act=attach&type=post&id=23695" target="_blank"><img src="http://webservices.esa.int/blog/gallery/7/phobos_morph11.gif" alt="Animation of Phobos flyby 9 January 2011. Original images Copyright ESA/DLR/FU Berlin (G. Neukum). Animation credit: Dan Brennan, Elk Grove, California" /></a> Original animation via <a href="http://www.unmannedspaceflight.com/index.php?showtopic=480&hl=phobos&st=210" target="_blank">UnMannedSpaceFlight.com</a> Original HRSC images: Copyright ESA/DLR/FU Berlin (G. Neukum). Animation credit: Dan Brennan, Elk Grove, California     General Science Phobos Fly-by 2011 2011-01-25T17:58:05Z danielscuka Mars Express' January 2011 Phobos images show how camera works http://webservices.esa.int/blog/post/7/1320 <a id="res_12158" href="http://webservices.esa.int/blog/gallery/7/HRSClarge.jpg"> <div style="text-align: center"> <img src="http://webservices.esa.int/blog/gallery/7/previews-med/HRSClarge.gif" border="0" alt="High Resolution Stereo Camera (HRSC):: The HRSC on board ESA's Mars Express will image the entire planet in full colour, 3D and with a resolution of about 10 metres. Selected areas will be imaged at 2-metre resolution. One of the camera's greatest strengths will be the unprecedented pointing accuracy achieved by combining images at the two different resolutions. The Camera Head is the light grey unit in the middle and the top rectangular aperture. The Super Resolution Channel (SRC) is the black cylindrical aperture at lower right. The Camera Head and SRC together measure 515 x 300 x 260 mm. The Digital Unit is the black box at the back. The complete HRSC weighs 20.4 kilograms and consumes about 48.7 Watts with both camera and SRC working. Credits: DLR/FU Berlin/ESA 2003" /> </div> </a>Emily Lakdawalla over at the <a href="http://planetary.org/blog" target="_blank">Planetary Society Blog</a> has posted a very detailed explanation of how the Mars Express High-Resolution Stereo Camera (HRSC) works, with some very informative examples and descriptions from this month's Phobos flyby. Emily writes: <blockquote> But what I think is best about this particular set of images is that they serve as really great illustrations of how HRSC works. It's an unusual instrument: a pushbroom camera that acquires simultaneous stereo and color data with a higher-resolution framing camera bolted to it. If you don't understand what that preceding sentence means, bear with me; I'll explain. </blockquote> Access Emily's full post in <a href="http://www.planetary.org/blog/article/00002888/" target="_blank">The Planetary Society Blog</a>.    General Science Phobos Fly-by 2011 2011-01-25T11:45:11Z danielscuka NASA APOD: Mars Express views Phobos! http://webservices.esa.int/blog/post/7/1319 The team here were delighted to see that the Mars Express HRSC image of Phobos had been selected as NASA's Astronomy Picture of the Day (APOD) yesterday! Thanks guys! Click on the image below to access the APOD site --> and scroll down and click on the link to vote for APOD's '<a href="http://bb.nightskylive.net/asterisk/viewtopic.php?f=29&t=22695" target="_blank">Astronomy Picture of the Year 2010</a>'. -- Daniel <a href="http://apod.nasa.gov/apod/ap110124.html" target="_blank"><img src="http://webservices.esa.int/blog/gallery/7/esa_Mars_express_phobos_nasa_apod.gif" alt="Phobos' South Pole from Mars Express. Credit & Copyright: ESA/DLR/FU Berlin (G. Neukum) - posted as NASA APOD on 24 January 2011 via: http://apod.nasa.gov/apod/ap110124.html" /></a> General Science Phobos Fly-by 2011 2011-01-25T11:29:40Z danielscuka More flyby results: Imaging the heat of Phobos! http://webservices.esa.int/blog/post/7/1318 This just sent in yesterday evening by ESA's Olivier Witasse, the Mars Express Project Scientist, with details on PFS results from the Phobos flyby. <a id="res_20154" href="http://webservices.esa.int/blog/gallery/7/Phobos_Orbit_08974_by_MEX_PFS.gif"> <div style="text-align: center"> <img src="http://webservices.esa.int/blog/gallery/7/previews-med/Phobos_Orbit_08974_by_MEX_PFS.gif" border="0" alt="This figure shows the spectrum of Phobos acquired by the PFS instrument during the flyby on 9 January 2011 (Mars Express orbit 8974). The x-axis represents the wave number, in other words the wavelength, in the infrared. The y-axis represents the radiance, a physical quantity proportional to the brightness. The data are in black (note the uncertainty is also shown), while the red curve is an interpolation to the data. Credits: ESA/ASI/INAF-IFSI/PFS team" /> </div> </a> Credits: ESA/ASI/INAF-IFSI/PFS team  The figure above (click for large size) shows the spectrum of Phobos acquired by the PFS instrument during the flyby on 9 January 2011 (Mars Express orbit 8974). The x-axis represents the wave number, in other words the wavelength, in the infrared. The y-axis represents the radiance, a physical quantity proportional to the brightness. The data are in black (note the uncertainty is also shown), while the red curve is an interpolation to the data. Olivier sent in a note, stating: <blockquote> PFS on Mars Express detects Phobos! The Planetary Fourier Spectrometer (PFS) on board Mars Express successfully observed Phobos during the close flyby performed on 9 January 2011. The instrument collected data in thermal and near infrared wavelengths, with a spectral resolution of ~1.3 cm-1. Phobos was well illuminated during the flyby, ensuring good quality data. The figure shows a preliminary calibration of the spectrum of Phobos acquired during the flyby. The spectrum shows a clear absorption feature around the wave number 600 cm-1 (corresponding to a wavelength of 17 µm), which was already visible during previous flybys. This feature (and other less-pronounced absorption bands visible in the spectrum) will help investigations into the surface composition of Phobos. The general shape of the spectrum allows scientists to deduce the surface temperature; a preliminary estimate for this observation indicates a surface temperature of ~ -57 Celsius. Further analysis is required to improve the calibration and the calculation of the geometry for these new observations. Subsequent surface temperature and composition analysis will be carried out. </blockquote> General Science Phobos Fly-by 2011 2011-01-25T09:40:40Z danielscuka Mars Express Close Flybys of the Martian Moon Phobos 2011 http://webservices.esa.int/blog/post/7/1317 We received late yesterday the processed images from the High Resolution Stereo Camera (HRSC) science team and they are fabulous! The HRSC team have provided an excellent set of images and captions showing a 3D view of the moon and the proposed landing site of the Phobos-Grunt mission. -- Stuart & Daniel Note: Each of the images below links through to a high-resolution (TIFF) file. <hr width="100%" size="2" />   The first image shows the geometrical relationships between Mars, Phobos, and Mars Express at the time of the sequence. Copyright ESA/DLR/FU Berlin (G. Neukum).     <div style="text-align: center"> <a href="http://download.esa.int/esoc/phobos/image1-492-20110120-8974-Geometry-01-PhobosFlyby.tif" target="_blank"><img src="http://webservices.esa.int/blog/gallery/7/previews-med/image1-492-20110120-8974-Geometry-01-PhobosFlyby.gif" border="0" /></a> </div>     Stereo-1 channel image of Phobos: his image has been photometrically enhanced to illuminate darker areas. Resolution: 4.1 meters per pixel. Image: Copyright ESA/DLR/FU Berlin (G. Neukum).   <div style="text-align: center"> <a href="http://download.esa.int/esoc/phobos/image2-492-20110120-8974-HighresImage-02-PhobosFlyby.tif" target="_blank"><img src="http://webservices.esa.int/blog/gallery/7/previews-med/image2-492-20110120-8974-HighresImage-02-PhobosFlyby.gif" border="0" /></a> </div>     3D Image (red-cyan anaglyph): The HRSC camera recorded images of Phobos on 9 January 2011 at a distance of 100 km with a resolution of 8.1 m/pixel. Due to the stereo viewing geometry during the flyby, a small part of the moon’s edge is only visible for the right eye resulting in an odd 3D-perception in this area. This part has been slightly adjusted for better viewing. Also, for the left eye at the left edge of the image four small data gaps have been interpolated. Image: Copyright ESA/DLR/FU Berlin (G. Neukum).   <div style="text-align: center"> <a href="http://download.esa.int/esoc/phobos/Image3-492-20110120-8974-Anaglyh-03-PhobosFlyby.tif" target="_blank"><img src="http://webservices.esa.int/blog/gallery/7/previews-med/Image3-492-20110120-8974-Anaglyh-03-PhobosFlyby.gif" border="0" /></a> </div>     SRC Images: Superimposed on the HRSC nadir image are 7 SRC images with a resolution of about 3 m/pixel. The Super Resolution Channel images show more details of the surface of Phobos. Image: Copyright ESA/DLR/FU Berlin (G. Neukum).     <div style="text-align: center"> <a href="http://download.esa.int/esoc/phobos/image4-492-20110120-8974-SRCimages-04-PhobosFlyby.tif" target="_blank"><img src="http://webservices.esa.int/blog/gallery/7/previews-med/image4-492-20110120-8974-SRCimages-04-PhobosFlyby.gif" border="0" /></a> </div>     Sequence of 5 HRSC-channels, orbit 8974: (left to right) stereo S1 (4.1 m/pixel), photometric P1 (8.1 m/pixel), nadir ND (3.9 m/pixel), photometric p2 (8.2 m/pixel), stereo S2 (4.3 m/pixel). Image: Copyright ESA/DLR/FU Berlin (G. Neukum).   <div style="text-align: center"> <a href="http://download.esa.int/esoc/phobos/image5-492-20110120-8974-sequence-05-PhobosFlyby.tif" target="_blank"><img src="http://webservices.esa.int/blog/gallery/7/previews-med/image5-492-20110120-8974-sequence-05-PhobosFlyby.gif" border="0" /></a> </div>     Planned landing site of the Russian Phobos-Grunt mission: Image of Phobos with a resolution of 8.2 m/pixel in orbit 8974. The ellipses marked the previously planned (red) and currently considered (blue) landing sites for the Russian Phobos-Grunt mission. Image: Copyright ESA/DLR/FU Berlin (G. Neukum).   <div style="text-align: center"> <a href="http://download.esa.int/esoc/phobos/image6-492-20110120-8974-Grunt-landing-site-06-PhobosFlyby.tif" target="_blank"><img src="http://webservices.esa.int/blog/gallery/7/previews-med/image6-492-20110120-8974-Grunt-landing-site-06-PhobosFlyby.gif" border="0" /></a> </div>   Further information: Markus Bauer ESA Science and Robotic Exploration Communication Officer Email: markus.bauer@esa.int Tel: +31 71 565 6799 Mob: +31 61 594 3 954 Olivier Witasse ESA Mars Express project scientist ESTEC, The Netherlands Tel: +31 71 565 8015 Email:  owitasse@rssd.esa.int Univ.-Prof. Dr. Gerhard Neukum Freie Universitaet Berlin Fachbereich Geowissenschaften Fachrichtung Planetologie und Fernerkundung Mobile: +49 171-7647177 Telefon: +49 30 838 70579; +49 30 838 70575 (Sekr.) Email:  gneukum@zedat.fu-berlin.de Prof. Dr. Ralf Jaumann Deutsches Zentrum für Luft- und Raumfahrt (DLR) Institut für Planetenforschung, Planetengeologie Tel.: +49 30 67055-400 Fax: +49 30 67055-402 Email:  ralf.jaumann@dlr.de       General Science Phobos Fly-by 2011 2011-01-21T11:06:45Z danielscuka MARSIS strikes Phobos again! http://webservices.esa.int/blog/post/7/1307 This note and images were just sent in from the MARSIS Team - it appears they did in fact receive some nice returns during Sunday's Phobos flyby. The instrument's 40-metre long antenna is usually used to send low-frequency radio waves towards Mars, which are then reflected from any surface they encounter. The team wrote: <blockquote> The multi-frequency sounding radar MARSIS successfully observed Phobos during the latest Mars Express science campaign on 9 January 2011. MARSIS collected two segments of data containing 6000 individual echoes, acquired in 50 sec of operation. The distance from Mars Express to Phobos was in the range 180 to 230 km, using a frequency of 4 MHz. The ground track covered new areas not explored by previous flybys. From a first analysis of the topography and based on previous experience, the layered appearance of the image, also called 'clutter' is caused by delayed radar reflections from the surrounding Phobos surface shape. Fig. 1 (scroll down) shows the radargram of the first segment of the flyby. The top white line is the surface signature of Phobos, while the clutter or sub-surface contributions are the bottom ones. Ground processing of the data for one single frame, is shown in Fig. 2 with a Signal-to-Noise Ratio (SNR) of about 18 dB. The first peak represents the Phobos surface, while the second one could be either clutter or subsurface returns. The distance between the two main peaks in time is about 5.7µs (microseconds). Further and more accurate analysis will now be done to improve the signal to noise level and the range resolution, allowing a better science interpretation. </blockquote> - The Marsis team   <a id="res_20049" href="http://webservices.esa.int/blog/gallery/7/PHOBOS_MARSIS_MEX_9Jan2011_a.jpg"> <div style="text-align: center"> <img src="http://webservices.esa.int/blog/gallery/7/previews-med/PHOBOS_MARSIS_MEX_9Jan2011_a.gif" border="0" /> </div> </a>   Figure 1 <a id="res_20050" href="http://webservices.esa.int/blog/gallery/7/PHOBOS_MARSIS_MEX_9Jan2011_b.jpg"> <div style="text-align: center"> <img src="http://webservices.esa.int/blog/gallery/7/previews-med/PHOBOS_MARSIS_MEX_9Jan2011_b.gif" border="0" /> </div> </a>  Figure 2 General Science Phobos Fly-by 2011 2011-01-11T17:05:06Z danielscuka Phobos flyby complete http://webservices.esa.int/blog/post/7/1306 <a id="res_11608" href="http://webservices.esa.int/blog/gallery/7/mars_express_in_orbit_400.jpg"><img src="http://webservices.esa.int/blog/gallery/7/previews/mars_express_in_orbit_400.gif" border="0" align="left" /></a>A quick update from the Mars Express team here at ESOC: based on telemetry and information downloaded after the 9 January Phobos flyby, the spacecraft completed the flyby according to plan. Mars Express is healthy and the team are now waiting for science data to be downloaded over the next ten days. The data will be passed to the various instrument teams for analysis, and, according the ESA's Mars Express Project Scientist Olivier Witasse, we expect to have the high-resolution images later in the week of 17 January. -- Daniel     General Phobos Fly-by 2011 2011-01-10T18:08:12Z danielscuka Blog back online http://webservices.esa.int/blog/post/7/1305 Our sincere apologies to all who tried to follow the progress of Mars Express on 9 January - our system went down and was only restored this morning. :-( To see the real-time updates from yesterday, access the <a href="http://www.facebook.com/EuropeanSpaceAgency" target="_blank">ESA page in Facebook</a> - which served as a handy if somewhat unplanned back-up platform! We will check with the Mars Express team here at ESOC later today and get an update out to you here in the blog. -- Daniel General Phobos Fly-by 2011 2011-01-10T11:40:44Z danielscuka Mars Express all set for autonomous Phobos flyby http://webservices.esa.int/blog/post/7/1304 A quick final update on spacecraft activity for the next few days, provided by Mars Express Spacecraft Operations Engineer Hannes Griebel here at ESOC: <ul> <li>The final pre-flyby orbit determination was concluded earlier this week; this precise calculation of the Mars Express orbit was used to generate the commands for the flyby </li> <li>These commands include all necessary pointing and instrument instructions so that the flyby and science observations can be conducted automatically</li> <li>They were uploaded to the spacecraft this morning during a ground station pass at 07:00 UT (08:00 CET)</li> <li>Mars Express is now in an orbit with respect to Mars ranging from approximately 400 km to 10 000 km; it will pass by the centre of Phobos on Sunday at just 111 km</li> <li>On Sunday, 9 January, Mars Express will automatically slew to point instruments toward the expected direction of Phobos starting at 13:55 UT (14:55 CET) - it will stay in this pointing mode for 5 minutes and 46 seconds</li> <li>Closest approach occurs at 14:06:30.016 UT (15:06:30.016 CET)</li> <li>A few minutes later, after closest approach, it will slew back to Earth pointing and the next ground station pass, via ESA's 35m DSA-2 deep space station at Cebreros, Spain, will begin at 14:57 UT (15:57 CET). Data will be downloaded progressively over the following days(see "When can we expect first images" below)</li> </ul> At this time, the one-way signal travel time is 19 mins:47.4 seconds and Mars Express is 355 959 424 km from Earth. Mars Express Spacecraft Operations Manager Michel Denis added: <blockquote> "The simple fact that this flyby is being done automatically and with little human activity on the days around and during closest approach hides the large amount of work done by the operations team, the flight dynamics team, the mission scientists and the principle investigators to get ready. We are looking forward to a smooth flyby and some very interesting results." </blockquote> Overall, it's a quiet but nonetheless exciting phase of the mission that promises to provide some excellent and valuable Phobos images and data from close up! We'll update you on Monday as soon as we hear any word from the team at ESOC.  -- Daniel     General Orbits Phobos Fly-by 2011 2011-01-07T17:14:46Z danielscuka Phobos flyby 9/01 - when can we expect first images? http://webservices.esa.int/blog/post/7/1303 On Sunday, 9 January, Mars Express will make its closest approach to Phobos, with the spacecraft passing just 111 km above the moon's centre at 14:09 UT (15:09 CET). Of course, we all know that science is about a lot more than pretty pictures; but we can’t help ourselves can we? The first question any of us ask when we hear about a new flyby is, "When do we get the images?" We want to see Phobos, and we want to see it now! While closest approach takes place this coming Sunday, Olivier Witasse, ESA Project Scientist for Mars Express, explains below that all things come to those who wait. I asked him when we can expect the first image? Olivier replied: <blockquote> We will have to be patient! The whole Phobos data set will be downloaded to Earth by Tuesday, 18 January. The HRSC team will then process the data, and we can expect a release of images (including a 3D view) on Friday, 21 January. </blockquote> Why wait for nine days after the closest approach? <blockquote> The reason is that besides this Phobos event, there are other camera observations of Mars and many observations by the other Mars Express instruments. <a href="http://www.esa.int/esaMI/ESOC/SEMYVF3XQEF_0.html" target="_blank">Software plans and optimises the data downlink</a> to make sure that no instruments lose any data, and it uses the biggest data storage on board (the one for the camera) to act as a buffer when downlink capabilities are scarce. This avoids overwriting valuable data! Once the other data are safely on the ground, then Mars Express sends the camera files. </blockquote> An interesting aspect of this story is that starting on 19 January, contact with Mars Express will be much reduced for five weeks. We will even loose contact for some days due to the solar conjunction, when the Sun will block our view of Mars and Mars Express. During this period, the spacecraft will be fully autonomous but perform no observations. Luckily, the Phobos close encounter occurs more than a week before and its images will be on the ground just in time! -- Stuart Note: To help pass the time, enjoy are a pair of recent images captured in March 2010 by the HRSC. <a id="res_20044" href="http://webservices.esa.int/blog/gallery/7/H7948_0005_SR2.png"> <div style="text-align: center"> <img src="http://webservices.esa.int/blog/gallery/7/previews-med/H7948_0005_SR2.gif" border="0" alt="Close view with the Super Resolution Channel of the HRSC camera ** Caption: This close-up of the surface of Phobos was taken on 16 March 2010 at a distance from the moon's centre of 660 km, with a spatial resolution of about 6 m/pixel. The image is available in the Planetary Science Archive. Credit: ESA/ DLR/FU Berlin (G. Neukum)." /> </div> </a>        <a id="res_20043" href="http://webservices.esa.int/blog/gallery/7/H7926_0011_SR2.png"> <div style="text-align: center"> <img src="http://webservices.esa.int/blog/gallery/7/previews-med/H7926_0011_SR2.gif" border="0" alt="Close view with the Super Resolution Channel of the HRSC camera ** Caption: This close-up of the surface of Phobos was taken on 10 March 2010 at a distance from the moon's centre of 278 km, with a spatial resolution of about 3 m/pixel. The image is available in the Planetary Science Archive. Credit: ESA/ DLR/FU Berlin (G. Neukum)." /> </div> </a>  <div align="center"> These close-ups of the surface of Phobos were taken on 10 March 2010 at a distance from the moon's centre of 278 km, with a spatial resolution of about 3 m/pixel. The images are available in the Planetary Science Archive. Credit: ESA/ DLR/FU Berlin (G. Neukum). </div> <div align="center">   </div> <div align="center">   </div> General ESTRACK Science Phobos Fly-by 2011 2011-01-07T15:16:44Z stuartclark