Mission "ExoMars" contacted the Earth

Orbital probe Trace Gas Orbiter

The Russian-European interplanetary mission ExoMars-2016 successfully communicated with the Earth, according to oborona.gov.ru . The European Mission Control Center provided a report that refers to “receiving a signal from an interplanetary station.”

The mission to the Red Planet includes the apparatus Trace Gas Orbiter (TGO) and the demonstration landing module Schiaparelli. The Proton-M carrier rocket, which delivered the vehicles into orbit, started yesterday, March 14 at 12:31 Moscow time, from the Baikonur cosmodrome. At 12:41, the upper stage and ExoMars itself separated from the third stage of the launch vehicle, and went out onto the desired trajectory. At 23:13 Moscow time "ExoMars" continued to fly independently.

The flight of ExoMars will take seven months. It is planned that on October 16, the vehicles will split, on October 19, Schiaparelli will enter the atmosphere of the Red Planet, and the TGO will enter its orbit. For about a year, it will slow down about the atmosphere, so the orbiter will begin its work only in mid-2017. According to experts, it can be operated until the end of 2022.
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In more detail about Trace Gas Orbiter, Schiaparelli and their mission he told lozga in this post .