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Mission record

ExoMars 2016

Also known as EXOMARS16, ExoMars Trace Gas Orbiter, Trace Gas Orbiter, TGO, Schiaparelli

ESA, Roscosmos · Launched

Explore trajectory

Active · Partial success

ExoMars 2016 launched the Trace Gas Orbiter and Schiaparelli together on 14 March 2016. TGO entered Mars orbit on 19 October 2016 and studies atmospheric trace gases from its science orbit. Schiaparelli returned entry and descent measurements but a navigation anomaly caused premature parachute release and a fatal fall. The two spacecraft are represented separately after release.

Destinations
Launch vehicle
Proton-M
Launch site
Tyuratam (Baikonur Cosmodrome), Kazakhstan
Countries
Russia
Mission types
Orbiter, Lander, Technology demonstrator

Chronology

Mission timeline

  1. Launch

    Launched on a Proton with a Breeze M upper stage

    ExoMars 2016 launched at 09:31 UT on 14 March 2016 on a Proton rocket with a Breeze M upper stage from Baikonur Cosmodrome in Kazakhstan, and the launch/orbital information page gives the same instant as 2016-03-14T09:31:00Z. NSSDCA's Funding Agency line reads European Space Agency (International) and prints no country, so the country here is narrower than the mission and is recorded that way rather than filled in: ESA's own FAQ says the programme is a cooperation between ESA and the Russian space agency, Roscosmos, that Roscosmos is providing the Proton rockets, and that two of the four science instrument packages on the TGO are Russian-led. The same page lists the sixteen European states and four non-European states whose contractors make up the programme's industrial team, which is a statement about the programme rather than about this mission's hardware, and is not committed here.

    Earth

  2. Deployment

    TGO completed solar-array deployment

    ESA recorded deployment completion at 22:38 CET, which is 21:38 UTC. The report does not establish intermediate panel angles.

  3. Deployment

    Schiaparelli released three days before Mars arrival

    The ESA inquiry gives separation from TGO at 14:42:00 UTC on 16 October 2016. The lander then followed its own three-day ballistic approach to Mars.

    Mars

  4. Orbit insertion

    The orbiter entered a four-day elliptical capture orbit

    After releasing Schiaparelli the Trace Gas Orbiter maneuvered to put itself into a 4-day, 98000 x 200 km elliptical orbit around Mars. ESA's factsheet dates the orbiter insertion into Mars orbit to 19 October 2016 and gives no time; NSSDCA gives no date for that maneuver at all, so this event carries the day ESA publishes.

    Mars

  5. Milestone

    Schiaparelli detected atmospheric entry

    The AMELIA reconstruction identifies the detected entry interface at 14:42:22.132 UTC. This is distinct from the earlier reference state at 14:42:07.125 UTC and from the later impact.

    Mars

  6. Deployment

    Schiaparelli deployed its parachute

    The AMELIA reconstructed event table places parachute deployment at 9.3871 km above the 3396 km MOLA reference radius; this altitude is distinct from height above the local terrain.

    Mars

  7. Impact

    Schiaparelli impacted Mars

    The ESA inquiry identifies impact at 14:47:28 UTC. Its earlier 14:47:22 timestamp is loss of signal, a distinct event. The reported impact speed is approximately 150 m/s.

    Mars

  8. Milestone

    Aerobraking completed and the science phase began

    In March 2017 it started using aerobraking orbits, dipping into the upper martian atmosphere. It completed the effort on 20 February 2018 with a thruster firing to bring it into a 1050 x 200 km orbit. It then maneuvered over the next two months to bring it into its circular, roughly 2-hour, 400-km altitude science orbit. ESA's factsheet dates aerobraking March 2017 - March 2018 and the science phase beginning to March 2018, which is the month committed here.

    Mars

  9. Milestone

    TGO observed the May 2024 solar superstorm

    TGO measured a radiation dose equivalent to about 200 normal days in 64 hours during the May 2024 storm. ESA published its account on 5 March 2026; that publication date is distinct from the observation date.

    Mars

Mission architecture

Vehicles

  • ExoMars Trace Gas Orbiter · Orbiter

    Destinations: Mars

    • Schiaparelli · Lander

      Destinations: Mars

Trajectory record

Time-dependent navigation trajectory

Source states place the model at the selected time. Reconstructed flight, estimates, predictions and historical mission plans are identified by interval; gaps remain visible.

J2000 · Sun-centered display · positions interpolated between source states

Coverage: March 14, 2016 to January 4, 2039

Source records and sampling assumptions are retained with the repository data. Model attitude and surface appearance are illustrative.

  • ExoMars Trace Gas Orbiter: Reconstructed · March 14, 2016 to January 4, 2039
  • Schiaparelli: Estimated · October 19, 2016 to October 19, 2016

Provenance

Sources

Each source is listed once and labeled with the mission, event, trajectory, or destination/body context it supports.

Data verified through September 13, 2026