Mars MetNet

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Mars MetNet is a planned atmospheric science mission to Mars led by the Finnish Meteorological Institute (FMI) with partners in Russia and Spain. Its goal is to create a network of MetNet landers on the Martian surface to study the atmosphere, weather, and climate. The plan calls for 10 to 20 observation points, with a minimum of about 10–20 landers deployed across Mars and a supporting orbiter to gather data and relay it to Earth.

The concept began with FMI in the late 1980s and matured over the next decade. It builds on earlier ideas like NetLander, Marsnet, and InterMarsnet. Of these, Mars 96 reached launch but failed in trans-Mars injection. By 2013 two flight-capable entry, descent, and landing systems (EDLS) had been built and tested; one unit was used for environment tests and the other was considered flight-ready. As of 2015, baseline funding existed at least until 2020, but by 2016 the launch vehicle and exact schedule had not been set.

Mars MetNet includes a precursor mission to test the concept, with a single lander to demonstrate technology and science before more landers are deployed if funding allows. The Landers are designed to be deployed from Earth or piggybacked on other Mars missions and would be complemented by an orbiter that stays in Mars orbit to sound the atmosphere and relay data to Earth.

Each MetNet lander is an impact probe about 1.8 meters in diameter and roughly 22.2 kg in landing mass, carrying about 4 kg of science payload. It uses an inflatable entry and descent system (instead of rigid heat shields and parachutes) to slow down before landing, with a final descent speed of about 44.6 to 57.6 m/s. The expected operational life on the Martian surface is seven years. The landers generate around 0.6 W of power from solar panels during the day, and instruments are activated in sequence due to limited power.

The plan is for the surface network to be supported by a Mars orbiter with a sounding instrument that continuously measures the atmosphere and relays data to Earth. The landers would be placed at latitudes within ±30 degrees to ensure good solar power for their solar panels.

The precursory mission would carry a small set of meteorological instruments to test the concept. An earlier idea to launch a MetNet lander with Phobos Grunt was dropped due to weight constraints, and Phobos Grunt later failed to depart Earth. A dedicated precursor mission could use the Russian Volna launcher.