Amphibious robots may have died on Mars because of opening soon

The Schiaparelli amphibious robot of the European Space Agency (ESA) may have opened too early and crashed into the surface of Mars, losing contact with the Earth.

Data transmitted to Earth today from the mother ship Trace Gas Orbiter (TGO) in ExoMars 2016 mission indicate that even though the amphibious robot Schiaparelli can be opened too early when entering the atmosphere of Mars on October 19, the device Stabbed into the surface of the red planet, according to New Atlas.

Schiaparelli exploration robot separated from TGO on October 16, spending 6 minutes moving in the Martian atmosphere to accomplish the goal of safely landing on the planet's surface.

Schiaparelli robot can hit the surface of Mars at high speed.(Photo: ESA).

Schiaparelli lost contact with the Earth almost immediately after crossing the Martian atmosphere at five times the speed of sound. Schiaparelli is programmed to continue transmitting data to TGO and ships orbiting ESA's Mars Express orbit during the fall.

According to ESA, the preliminary analysis of the remote measurement indicates that the robot landed carried out most of the steps in accordance with the grounding plan. Heat resistant shield protects the robot when it drops to supersonic speed, the robot removes the shield and opens it as expected. However, the signal to Earth suddenly stops before the robot lands.

ESA experts say Schiaparelli removed the shield and opened it too early , causing the propulsion to be activated and turned off earlier than expected. If this happens, the robot can crash into the Martian surface at high speed and be destroyed. However, ESA emphasizes the need for more time to monitor and analyze before making a final conclusion.

"We will set up an investigation team to further investigate the data. At this point, we are not able to make a guess yet," said David Parker, director of the Adventurer's Division with robots and manned flights. of ESA, said.