ExoMars Rosalind Franklin Astrobiology Rover Will Have A European Landing Platform
The European Space Agency (ESA) has selected Airbus to design and build the landing platform for the ExoMars Rosalind Franklin rover. In 2028, ESA will launch this ambitious exploration mission to search for past and present signs of life on Mars.
European know-how
Airbus engineering teams in the United Kingdom will develop the mechanical, thermal and propulsion systems of the landing platform for a safe touchdown on the surface of the Red Planet in 2030.
This will include the landing structure, the large propulsion system used in the final braking thrust, and the gear to stabilise the lander once on the surface.
ExoMars Rosalind Franklin Contributors — ESA
Rosalind’s mission
Rosalind Franklin will be the first rover to drill to a depth of up to two metres below the martian surface, acquiring samples buried underground and protected from surface radiation and extreme temperatures.
The mission will also serve to demonstrate key technologies that Europe needs to master for future planetary exploration missions.
This includes landing safely on a planet, moving on the surface and analysing samples autonomously.
Landing on the Red Planet
Landing on Mars is one of the mission’s most critical challenges. From atmospheric entry to landing, the spacecraft’s descent will last just six minutes.
A set of parachutes and retro rockets will slow down the lander from 45m/s to less than 3m/s just before touchdown. Two ramps will extend from opposite sides of the lander, offering the rover multiple pathways to reach the surface using the safest available route.
The rover is planned to touchdown on Mars in 2030 to avoid landing during the planet’s global dust storm season.
Past and future
Airbus designed and built the Rosalind Franklin rover in the bio-burden cleanroom at Stevenage in the UK and delivered it to TAS in France in 2019. ESA originally scheduled the launch for 2022, but it was postponed due to the Russian invasion of Ukraine. Through an extraordinary effort, ESA, its Member States and European industry reshaped the mission with new synergies and partnerships.
ESA, European industry and NASA continue working to maintain and upgrade the Rosalind Franklin rover in preparation for its planned launch in 2028 on a US rocket.
This includes the accommodation of heater units to keep the rover warm on the martian surface, as well as a new software mode to allow the rover to quickly transition into an autonomous state after landing.
“Getting the Rosalind Franklin rover onto the surface of Mars is a huge international challenge and the culmination of more than 20 years’ work. The mission will supercharge our space know-how in the UK, and will advance our collective understanding of our Solar System,” says Kata Escott, managing director at Airbus Defence and Space UK.
Astrobiology,
