Rosalind Franklin
Also known as ExoMars rover
European ExoMars rover built to drill two metres below the surface of Oxia Planum in search of preserved organic biosignatures.
| Maker | Airbus Defence and Space for the European Space Agency |
|---|---|
| Country | Europe |
| Status | Prototype |
| Mass | 310 kg |
| Actuation | Six wheel flexible chassis with wheel walking locomotion |
| Power | Solar arrays with radioisotope heater units for night survival |
| Sensors | PanCam, ISEM, CLUPI, WISDOM radar, Ma_MISS borehole spectrometer, MOMA, MicrOmega, Raman spectrometer |
| Autonomy | Onboard autonomous navigation for long single sol traverses |
The Rosalind Franklin rover is completed flight hardware, assembled by Airbus in Stevenage and held in Turin after the 2022 launch was cancelled. It carries a two metre drill, the Mars Organic Molecule Analyser and a six wheel flexible chassis that can wheel walk out of soft ground, and NASA is supplying the launch, braking engines and radioisotope heater units. ESA now plans a 2028 launch on a Falcon Heavy with landing at Oxia Planum in 2030.
Of note
- Designed to drill two metres deep, far deeper than any previous Mars rover
- Flight model is built and awaiting a 2028 launch
- Named after the chemist whose X-ray work underpinned DNA structure
Maker: www.esa.int