Aurora Programme

The Aurora Programme of the European Space Agency is an ambitious programme of manned and unmanned exploration of the Solar system, and particularly Mars.

As currently envisaged, the strategy calls for a human expedition to Mars by 2030. Member states commit to participation for five-year periods (the first is 2005–2009), after which they can change their level of participation or pull out entirely.

Missions

The first decade is planned to focus on robotic missions.

Flagship missions

So-called Flagship missions planned as part of Aurora include (as of August 25th, 2003):

• ExoMars, consisting of an unmanned orbiter and rover, launching in 2009
• an unmanned Mars Sample Return mission with two launches, in 2011 and 2014

Arrow missions

Arrow missions are technology demonstrator missions focused on developing a certain technology needed for the Flagship missions. Approved Arrow missions so far (as of January 30th, 2003):

• Earth re-entry vehicle/capsule, a step in the preparations for the Mars Sample Return mission.
• Mars aerocapture demonstrator, to further develop the technologies for using a planet's atmosphere to brake into orbit. (This particular mission seems to have been revised into an expanded mission to demonstrate "aerobraking/aerocapture, solar electric propulsion and soft landing" to be launched in 2018. Compare [1] and [2]).

Roadmap

The proposed Aurora roadmap (as of December 19th, 2003. This roadmap can, and most likely will go through revisions):

• 2007 – Earth re-entry vehicle/capsule
• 2009 – ExoMars, a Mars rover. The scientific objectives include exobiological studies as well as study of the surface of Mars.
• 2011 / 2014 – Mars Sample Return mission
• 2014 – Human mission technologies demonstrator(s) to validate technologies for orbital assembly and docking, life support and human habitation
• 2018 – A technology demonstrator for aerobraking/aerocapture, solar electric propulsion and soft landing (formerly envisaged as a smaller Arrow-class mission to be launched in 2010)
• 2024 – Human mission to the Moon
• 2026 – Automatic mission to Mars
• 2030 / 2033 – First human mission to Mars, as a split mission

External link

• Aurora site at ESA