ExoMars Rosalind Franklin Rover Set to Alter Understanding of Life on Mars

Space agencies are preparing for a mission that could permanently alter humanity’s understanding of biology beyond Earth. The Rosalind Franklin rover is designed to travel roughly 140 million miles to the Red Planet, carrying instrumentation built to probe deeper underground than any previous robotic explorer.

Airbus Builds the Rover in Stevenage

Constructed by Airbus in Stevenage, England, for the European Space Agency, the rover represents years of preparation. The ExoMars Rosalind Franklin rover is scheduled to travel to Mars in 2028 and reach the planet in 2030.

The mission was originally planned for the early 2020s, but was postponed several times. European industry partners subsequently worked to complete and qualify the lander and related systems on a compressed schedule intended to preserve the current target of a 2028 launch and a Mars arrival in 2030.

Engineers Test Charlie in the Tabernas Desert

Before the spacecraft leaves Earth, engineers are putting its operational procedures through trials.

The six-wheeled Charlie rover’s operations were managed from Italy during tests in Spain’s Tabernas desert, with precise coordination handled at the Rover Operations Control Centre in Turin. This configuration mirrors a challenge the Rosalind Franklin rover will encounter on Mars: a signal from the command center to the rover may take a minimum of 20 minutes, leaving no room for immediate fixes or physical repairs if issues arise.

From the Rover Operations Control Centre in Turin, we are sending commands and overseeing activities as they would be conducted during a real Mars mission, working closely with colleagues from across Europe to put the rover through its paces.

Dr Helen Miles at the Rover Operations Control Centre in Turin

Drilling Into Oxia Planum for Biosignatures

Oxia Planum contains numerous layers of clay sediments, and scientists know that clay is a strong sign that there was water in that area in the past, with some studies suggesting the region may have once been covered by a vast ocean billions of years ago. Since radiation and chemical reactions on Mars can degrade organic molecules near the surface, subsurface material could have remained more shielded for eons.

The vehicle is designed with a key feature: a drill capable of boring up to two meters, approximately 6.5 feet, into the Martian surface, accessing layers more protected from harmful radiation than those studied by prior missions.

• PanCam: A panoramic camera system led by University College London’s Mullard Space Science Laboratory.
• Enfys: An infrared spectrometer led by Aberystwyth University to further analyze materials in rocks and help determine where the rover should go to drill for samples.

Mission Probes the Panspermia Hypothesis

Beyond planetary geology, the mission probes deep evolutionary questions regarding whether life on Mars and Earth could be related. A central question of the mission explores whether life on Mars, if it existed, might have a shared origin with life on Earth.

If life is the same there, it may be that we are all from the same ancestor. Is panspermia possible? Is it possible for life to travel from one planet for another?

Susanne Schwenzer, professor of planetary mineralogy at the Open University and an interdisciplinary scientist on the mission

Professor Schwenzer described the prospect as almost frightening to think about, because it changes everything.

While the Rosalind Franklin rover readies itself for a journey spanning roughly 140 million miles, the Trace Gas Orbiter—having entered Mars’ orbit in 2016 and commenced scientific operations in 2018—remains active in analyzing the planet’s atmosphere.

The way we imagine our universe would be changed forever, Schwenzer said.