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The NetLander 2007 Mars mission, is the first planetary mission focusing on investigations of the interior of the planet and the large-scale sirculation of the atmosphere. The NetLander consists of four landers. Each lander includes a network science payload with instrumentation for studying the interior of Mars, the atmosphere and the subsurface, as well as the ionospheric structure and geodesy.The NetLander is planned to be launched in 2007 by Ariane V together with the Mars Sample Return technology mission. The landers will be separated from the spacecraft and targeted to their locations on the Martian surface several days prior to the spacecraft's arrival at Mars.
The baseline mission of the NetLander will last one Martian year (about two Earth years). During that time the network payloads will conduct simultaneous seismological, atmospheric, magnetic, ionospheric and geodetic measurements and ground penetrating radar mapping supported by panoramic images. One of the important objectives of these measurements is to search for ground reservoirs of water, either as ice or as liquid water.
The NetLander scientific payload is based on instrumentation that has been or will be flown on other missions, like Mars '96, Cassini/Huygens, and Rosetta, or is proven by tests with prototypes.
The NetLander consortium comprises:
- CNES (French Space Agency) - the lead organisation
- Finnish Meteorological Institute - the payload management organisation
- DLR (German Space Agency)
- NASA/JPL
- and others
