ESA Mars Express probe to last until 2034 thanks to software update
Mars Express started orbiting the Red Planet in 2003 and still has nine years to go. This is possible thanks to a software update that has now been carried out.
Artistic representation of Mars Express
(Image: ESA - D. Ducros)
The European Space Agency ESA has sent a software update to its Mars orbiter Mars Express to ensure that it can remain operational until 2034. That would be more than 30 years after its arrival on the Red Planet and late enough to support the Japanese probe MMX with the Franco-German rover Idefix, explains the ESA. The update will further reduce the space probe's dependence on its gyroscopes to monitor its orientation so that, despite their unexpectedly rapid ageing, they do not necessitate an early end to the mission. The orbiter's star sensors are now used almost exclusively for this purpose.
Lifetime significantly extended
Mars Express has been orbiting the Red Planet since Christmas 2003, making it the second-oldest active Mars probe after NASA's Mars Odyssey. In 2017, however, those responsible at the control center realized that four of the six gyroscopes on board the probe were ageing faster than expected, explains the ESA. As a result, there was a threat of the mission coming to an end after just two more years. After months of preparation, a new operating mode was therefore introduced in 2018, in which the probe monitors its orientation primarily using the star sensors. The dependence on the gyroscopes for this was gradually reduced to extend their service life. However, one problem remained.
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As the ESA explains, the data from the star sensors is repeatedly unusable during correction maneuvers or in other operating modes, for example because they are dazzled by the sun. This was also the case for around one in four of the maneuvers required each day, which is why the gyroscopes were always activated. Following the latest software update, the probe now independently monitors whether a star sensor stops working during such a maneuver and can then activate the gyroscopes. This allows them to remain deactivated in most cases and last significantly longer. Overall, the gyroscopes would now be used 97 percent less frequently.
ESA assumes that the changes will significantly increase the orbiter's service life. When the new orientation mode was introduced, there was still talk of the mid-2020s. Despite its delay, Mars Express is now set to support the Japanese Martian Moon Exploration (MMX) mission, which is scheduled to launch in 2026. It is due to arrive at the Red Planet a year later, take samples from the Martian moon Phobos and fly them back to Earth in 2030. It is also planned to set down a rover there, which will be built in Germany and France and has been christened Idefix. Mars Express will accompany the mission until at least 2029. However, the ESA now believes that the probe could even last until 2034.
(mho)
