European Space Agency says Schiaparelli landing got botched because of false readings

The European Space Agency Investigation into the botched Schiaparelli lander has located a cause for the failure of the space probe. The ESA has revealed details on the investigation, and the preliminary evidence points to a second long false reading in the Inertial Measurement Unit (IMU) on board the spacecraft. The sensor measured the maximum measurement, which fooled the craft into thinking that it had already landed, and triggered a premature release of the on board parachute, firing of the brake thrusters and release of the back shell.

Computer simulations confirmed the behaviour of the spacecraft based on the erroneous readings. David Parker, ESA’s Director of Human Spaceflight and Robotic Exploration said “This is still a very preliminary conclusion of our technical investigations. The full picture will be provided in early 2017 by the future report of an external independent inquiry board, which is now being set up, as requested by ESA’s Director General, under the chairmanship of ESA’s Inspector General.”

However, the mission was not entirely without use. Some information from the Schiaparelli lander was beamed to spacecraft in orbit around Mars and land based telescopes. The Exo Mars and Mars Express orbiters, and the Giant Metre-wave Radio Telescope in India received this data from the spacecraft. The data has been passed on to European researchers for further analysis. The measurements are expected to increase understanding of the Martian atmosphere.

The Giant Metre-wave Radio Telescope at Khodad, Pune, Maharashtra was the last to maintain contact with the ESA Schiaparelli craft before the lander crashed into the surface of the red planet.