Back on track for the red planet

It’s been a year since ESA’s Rosalind Franklin rover mission was put on hold, but the work of the ExoMars teams in Europe hasn’t stopped.

In this program, the ESA Web TV crew travels to Turin, Italy to talk to teams and watch new tests performed with twin Earth rover Amalia while the real rover remains neatly stored in a spotless room.

The 15-minute special provides an update on what’s happened since a task In 2022 due to Russia’s invasion of Ukraine, future plan, new challenges, latest deep drilling test and strict planetary protection measures in place.

The European Space Agency’s (ESA) Rosalind Franklin rover has unique drilling capabilities and an onboard science laboratory unmatched by any other mission in development. Her twin rover Amalia is back again Wheels They dug 1.7 meters into Mars-like terrain in Italy — about 25 times deeper than any other rovers that attempted to land on Mars. the rover Samples were also collected for analysis under the supervision of European science teams.

The European Space Agency, together with international and industry partners, is working to reconfigure the ExoMars Rosalind Franklin mission with new European elements, including a rover, and a target date for the trip to Mars in 2028.

The newly formed Rosalind Franklin mission will recover one of ExoMars’ original goals – to create an autonomous European capability to reach the surface of Mars with an advanced robotic payload.