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ExoMars Trace Gas Orbiter : European Space Agency
News:The ExoMars Trace Gas Orbiter (TGO) of the European Space Agency recently flashed an encrypted message to Earth from its orbit around Mars.
The first of several cooperative projects between Roscosmos, the Russian space agency, and the European Space Agency (ESA), is the ExoMars Trace Gas Orbiter (TGO).
It is intended to learn more about methane and other atmospheric gases that are found in trace amounts in the Martian atmosphere.
Because of the orbiter’s sensitivity to hydrogen, it has also been possible to look for water hidden behind thin Martian soil layers.
It also serves as a technology test for upcoming missions.
It was launched in March 2016 and turned on on October 19, 2016, when it entered Mars’ orbit.
The Schiaparelli lander travelled to Mars on TGO.
The actual spacecraft is a box measuring 3.2 metres by 2 metres by 2 metres that is equipped with an antenna for communication with Earth and an additional antenna for communication with spacecraft on Mars’ surface.
It is run by two tiny batteries to keep it going during eclipses when it doesn’t get any sunlight and a pair of solar arrays that stick out from its sides like wings.
