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An interplanetary probe must decelerate from a hyperbolic interplanetory trajectory to an orbital trajectory when it arrives at its destination. Currently, this maneuvre is achieved using chemical propulsion, which means that propellant makes up a significant fraction of the vehicle mass. Aerocapture is an alternative concept that instead uses aerodynamic drag from the athmosphere of the planet to decelerate the arriving spacecraft.

The activity 'Small Satellite Missions to Mars (S2M2)' is an early-phase architecture study of a potential low-cost mission to Mars as further step in the Mars exploration roadmap developed by ESA.

A potential implementation from industry’s point of view was assessed, applying the strict design-to-cost philosophy by fostering strong reuse of an available OHB platform. Trade-offs were performed for assessing a low-cost mission profile targeting the programmatic constraints that were input to this study.

The Mars Surface Platform Capabilities Study aimed to provide ESA with an assessment of the state of the art in Mars lander technologies using ESA/European technologies with flight heritage. Airbus’ Mars lander experience is taken from the Beagle 2 probe launched in 2003 on board Mars Express.

The objectives of the study were to:

Human exploratory missions to the Moon or Mars are widely considered as the next logical steps in human space exploration and, lately, settlement. Such space exploration or settlement activities involve humans spending long periods of time in space and, with increasing distance from Earth, no abort possibilities. Crews on such missions have to be self- sufficient, not only concerning food, drink and waste, but also with respect to medical treatment. Health issues are raised by the environmental conditions in space, such as the influence of altered gravity, radiation and isolation.