ExoMars Schiaparelli EDM

Mission Profile

ExoMars Schiaparelli EDM (Entry, Descent and Landing Demonstrator Module) was a European Space Agency Mars lander carried to Mars aboard the ExoMars Trace Gas Orbiter, designed to test entry, descent, and landing technologies for the planned ExoMars rover. Schiaparelli was released from TGO on 16 October 2016 and entered the Martian atmosphere on 19 October 2016, performing a nominal heat shield reentry and parachute deployment before the lander's Inertial Measurement Unit became saturated by computer errors, causing premature main engine cutoff. The lander impacted the surface at high speed about 5.4 km from its target landing site and was confirmed destroyed. Despite the crash, Schiaparelli transmitted comprehensive engineering data throughout its descent, providing valuable EDL performance data for ESA's future ExoMars Rosalind Franklin rover mission.