Rosalind Franklin
ESA's Mars rover, built to drill up to 2 m below the surface in search of signs of past or present life; launch is targeted for 2028 and landing for 2030.
Rosalind Franklin is the European Space Agency's Mars rover, the second part of the ExoMars program, which asks whether life has ever existed on Mars.[1] The first part, the Trace Gas Orbiter, launched in 2016; the rover mission is targeting launch in 2028.[1]
Why drill
The rover's main scientific goal is to search for signs of past and present life.[2] Its drill can reach 2 m below the surface, because organic molecules, some of which could be signs of life, are better preserved there from the radiation that bathes the surface.[2] It is to take and analyze samples every 50 cm from the surface down to 2 m.[2] In testing on Earth, its twin rover drilled 1.7 m into Mars-like ground, about 25 times deeper than any rover has attempted on Mars.[3]
Where it will land
The target landing site, Oxia Planum, is an ancient area rich in clay minerals that formed in the presence of abundant liquid water, where sediments might preserve traces of a water-rich past.[2][3] When the rover lands there in 2030, it will be the geologically oldest landing site visited on Mars.[3]
The mission
The rover's launch was put on hold and then cancelled, and ESA reshaped the mission with new European elements and a target of 2028 for the trip to Mars.[3] Its laboratory includes the Mars Organic Molecule Analyser, its largest instrument, designed for a very sensitive search for organic molecules.[2] It is designed to work for 218 Martian days.[2]
Milestones
- In 2028 expectedLaunch on Falcon Heavy
- In 2030 expectedLands at Oxia Planum
Dates marked expected are agency estimates.
All missions and what each does nextSources
- [1]European Space Agency, ExoMars — esa.int, retrieved October 26, 2026
- [2]European Space Agency, ExoMars Rosalind Franklin (RFM) — explorationscience.esa.int, retrieved October 26, 2026
- [3]European Space Agency, ExoMars rover testing moves ahead and deep down — esa.int, retrieved October 26, 2026
Related
- MMXJAXA's Martian Moons eXploration, launched in October 2026 to land on Phobos, deploy a rover and bring a sample of the Martian moon back to Earth in 2031.
- Tianwen-3China's Mars sample return mission, planned for launch around 2028 on two rockets, to bring samples from the Martian surface to Earth around 2031.