Question 1

True or false: TGO was built entirely by the European Space Agency with no Russian involvement.

Accepted Answer

False. It's a joint ESA-Roscosmos mission; Russia provided the Proton rocket and some instruments.

Question 2

True or false: TGO's primary mission is to sniff out trace gases like methane in Mars' atmosphere.

Accepted Answer

True. It analyzes atmospheric composition to understand geological and possible biological activity on Mars.

Question 3

True or false: TGO carries a lander called Schiaparelli, which successfully touched down on Mars in 2016.

Accepted Answer

False. Schiaparelli crashed due to a parachute failure; it was a test lander that did not survive landing.

Question 4

True or false: TGO's camera, CaSSIS, can resolve features as small as 4.5 meters across on Mars.

Accepted Answer

False. CaSSIS has a resolution of about 4.5 meters per pixel, so it can see objects that size—this one is true!

Question 5

True or false: TGO acts as a communications relay for NASA rovers like Curiosity and Perseverance.

Accepted Answer

True. It relays data from Mars surface missions to Earth, supporting both European and U.S. rovers.

Question 6

True or false: TGO's orbit is highly elliptical, dipping as low as 250 km above the Martian surface.

Accepted Answer

True. It flies in a near-circular orbit at about 400 km altitude, not highly elliptical or as low as 250 km.

Question 7

True or false: The ExoMars TGO can detect methane concentrations as low as a few parts per trillion.

Accepted Answer

False. Its sensitivity is actually around 1 part per billion, not trillion—still impressive, but not that extreme.

Question 8

True or false: TGO discovered that Mars loses water vapor to space primarily during dust storms.

Accepted Answer

True. It observed that dust storms lift water high into the atmosphere, where UV radiation breaks it apart.

ExoMars Trace Gas Orbiter Trivia Questions