Acceleration to 4300 km/h: ExoMars lander tests shown

The European Space Agency (ESA) has released a video showing tests of the lander, which is planned for use as part of the ExoMars program.

During tests conducted at the Saint-Louis Science Center in France, a miniature capsule measuring 8 cm in diameter was accelerated to 4300 km/h to simulate the lander's entry into the Martian atmosphere. The actual flight lasted only a few seconds—the video provided by ESA was slowed down 60 times. Since size is not critical in supersonic aerodynamics, and compliance with the laws of dynamic similarity is paramount during testing, the use of a miniature capsule allows for a fairly accurate recreation of the center of pressure and stability of the real module during the proposed entry into the Martian atmosphere. Furthermore, the tests included measurements of the oscillations and rotation of the mockup in free flight, enabling analysis of the dynamic behavior of the future capsule.

Thales Alenia Space, commissioned by the European Space Agency (ESA), is currently continuing development work on the ExoMars mission planned for the coming years. Leonardo's Rosalind Franklin rover, equipped with a drill, is slated to be sent to the surface of Mars. The mission was postponed due to the need to replace Russian-made equipment. In March 2022, the ESA suspended the joint program with Roscosmos due to anti-Russian sanctions.

Comments

[slipped]

Meanwhile, our scientists from the Space Research Institute of the Russian Academy of Sciences continue work on the Luna-Resource-1 lunar program, which envisions the launch of one orbiter, Luna-26, and two landers, Luna-27a and Luna-27b. The orbiter is scheduled to launch in a couple of years, and the scientific equipment has been produced and delivered. The goal is to map the lunar surface in stereo and relay data from both Russian and foreign spacecraft.

As part of the upcoming joint international scientific lunar station with China, scientific equipment has been delivered to the Chinese landing station "Chang'e-7", the launch of which is scheduled for this year.

[spektr9]

Meanwhile, our scientists

When are they planning to launch Orel/Federation under the new schedule? I haven't heard of them in a while. And when was the nuclear tug cancelled?

[Irokez]

Quote: spektr9

And when was the nuclear tug cancelled or not?

They're still working on it. They're just not publicizing it in the media. Apparently, they're tackling the cooling optimization issue. But the device should be groundbreaking, and even feature new, improved engines.
The Federation is closed, Orel is also being finalized.

[spektr9]

They're still working on it. They're just not publicizing it in the media. Apparently, they're tackling the cooling optimization issue. But the device should be groundbreaking, and even feature new, improved engines.
The Federation is closed, Orel is also being finalized.

Well then I am calm about our cosmonautics, stability though

[slipped]

Quote: spektr9

Well then I am calm about our cosmonautics, stability though

From February to April, Russia launched more than 40 spacecraft of various classes, from small to heavy.

[Intelligence]

Quote: Irokez

It seems like they are solving the cooling optimization problem.

That's right - "sort of." This problem has been "successfully" solved since 2014. After failure The Kaplya-2 experiment on the ISS. 39 seconds of operation of the intake rotor is pretty impressive.
After that, silence. Then, in 2020–2021, the Keldysh Center announced plans for Kaplya-2-2 (with a continuation in 2024–2025), and then—dead silence. As of May 2026, there has been no official report on the experiment, the results obtained, or the successful completion of the closed loop.
Seriously speaking, we can only talk about the kW class in the parameters of 200-300 (if a miracle happens - 500) and only with radiator cooling.
The MW version is, as usual, at the level of R&D, laboratory and bench testing, announcements, drawings, mock-ups, and plans.
Cooling problem not solved At the level of space-proven technology. And if they don't conduct and publish the results of a space experiment on a drip circuit in the next couple of years, all these Zeus-nucleons can be put to rest.

[Irokez]

I didn't like the idea of ​​drip cooling right away. I felt a certain distaste, but I did like the idea of ​​panels. It seems like they're choosing a non-metallic material that conducts heat well for radiation. Regarding the silence—that's right. Such ideas and developments shouldn't be advertised, because there are copywriters out there just waiting for someone to talk and accelerate faster than us. Everything should be as quiet as Bureau 1240—they kept quiet and then, bam, Musk responded, and that's right.

[Intelligence]

Are you serious about "responding to Musk"?
Can you predict when at least the second batch of satellites will be launched into orbit? Can you tell us what kind of electronic components they will be built on?

[Irokez]

Quote: Intelligence

Can you predict when at least the second batch of satellites will be launched into orbit? Can you tell us what kind of electronic components they will be built on?

You can predict anything, even the end of the world. Well, how do I know? Although it's possible that the next group of satellites might launch in May, and the electronics inside (microchips) will gradually be ours, although not 100%, just like everywhere else in the world.

[slipped]

Quote: spektr9

And when are they planning to launch the eagle/federation according to the new deadlines?

In April, a rig for servicing and preparing the reentry vehicle was installed in the Vostochny Cosmodrome's spacecraft assembly and testing facility. Helicopter drops of reentry vehicle mockups are planned for late this year and early next year. Afterward, the first mockup will be delivered to Vostochny for further testing.

[Perpetually]

The question is, what kind of miracle camera is this that can track and follow a small object flying at 4300 km/h and keep the object exactly in the center?

[nik-mazur]

Quote: Perpetually

What a miracle camera!

It's not so much a camera as a system based on rotating mirrors. This principle was used back in the 1940s. They started with ten thousand frames per second on film, but now they've reached 25 million frames per second on sensors.

[pexotinec]

As long as effective managers lead our science, especially in space, we won't go any further than our orbit. The only thing that's going to happen is money flowing into their bottomless pockets. We're still flying the same Soviet-era Soyuz rockets. So much money has been poured into it that you could build a city on the moon.

[MetalDesign]

Quote: Intelligence

If they don't conduct and publish the results of a space experiment on a drip circuit in the next couple of years, all these Zeus-nucleons can be written off.

Are you sure the results of experiments with technologies for a product being developed in the strictest secrecy should be published? And this is despite the fact that the Americans are trying to build their own nuclear tugboat.