ESA's Trace Gas Orbiter (TGO) is the first component of ESA's ExoMars programme.
The orbiter reached Mars in October 2016 and completed its aerobraking phase in March 2018, after which the TGO science mission could start. The main objective of TGO is to detect, map and trace back the origin of trace gases, some of which could be indicative of residual geophysical and even biological activity on Mars, the most emblematic of which is methane. On board TGO, the Atmospheric Chemistry Suite (ACS) is the spectrometer developed by IKI (Moscow) and in which LATMOS has been involved. ACS covers a wavelength range from 0.7 to 15 mm where all known or expected gaseous species on Mars have a diagnostic signature and offers a spectral resolution that has never been achieved by any other Mars mission in the past.
After 3 years in Mars orbit, it is time to make a first assessment of the exploratory work done by ACS.
From its repeated attempts to confirm the presence of methane, to its tentative characterisation of the H2O cycle in conjunction with that of HDO, to its discovery of HCl, ACS and TGO are gradually reshaping our understanding of the physico-chemical mechanisms that govern the composition and behaviour of Mars' atmosphere.
These results and their significance for Martian science will be presented during this seminar.
