The ExoMars 2016 Trace Gas Orbiter NOMAD Spectrometer Suite for Nadir, Limb and Solar Occultation Measurements of Mars' Atmosphere

NOMAD (Nadir and Occultation for MArs Discovery) is a suite of three high-resolution spectrometers on-board the ExoMars Trace Gas Orbiter, which was launched on 14th March 2016. The three spectrometers (Solar Occultation [SO]; Limb, Nadir and Occultation [LNO]; and Ultraviolet-Visible [UVIS]) cover the UV, Visible and Infrared, from 200-650nm and 2.2-4.3μm, and will map a range of Martian trace gases in unprecedented detail. The high resolution channels are designed to detect variations in the Martian D/H ratio, measure isotopes of CH4, aerosol properties, and to map many other important gas species from a circular orbit of just 400km above the surface. So far, the instrument has been switched on twice, in April and June, for testing and in-flight calibration - and is planned to be turned on again in November/December, after Mars Orbit Insertion on 19th October 2016. During this period, while the satellite is in a highly elliptical orbit, NOMAD will measure Mars for the first time, before aerobraking begins in early 2017. During aerobraking all the instruments will be switched off until the nominal science mission begins almost one year later, in November/December 2017. We will present the results to-date: including instrument capabilities, calibration and other preparations for the science campaign, and initial measurements of Mars if NOMAD is switched on in November.