Is life hiding beneath the Martian surface, protected from the harsh radiation?
In short: The ExoMars mission is a massive scientific gamble to answer one question: has life ever existed on Mars? By drilling deep into the red planet, the Rosalind Franklin rover aims to find chemical biomarkers that have been shielded from extreme temperatures and radiation for billions of years.
The ExoMars program, a joint initiative between the European Space Agency (ESA) and Russia's Roscosmos, is designed to characterize the past habitability of Mars. The mission consists of two primary components: the Trace Gas Orbiter (TGO) and the Rosalind Franklin rover. The TGO, which launched in 2016, scans the Martian atmosphere for trace gases like methane that might indicate biological activity.
The centerpiece of the mission is the Rosalind Franklin rover, currently scheduled to launch in October 2028. Unlike previous missions, this rover features a unique drill capable of reaching depths of approximately 2 meters (about 6.5 to 6.6 feet). This capability is crucial because it allows scientists to access soil that has been protected from surface radiation and extreme temperatures for 3 to 4 billion years—a time when Mars may have been warmer and wetter.
The mission has faced significant hurdles. A prototype lander, Schiaparelli, crashed during a 2016 test flight. Furthermore, the partnership with Roscosmos dissolved in July 2022 following the invasion of Ukraine. To ensure the mission's success, NASA and ESA signed an agreement on May 16, 2024, to expand cooperation. NASA will provide critical support, including the propulsion system for the lander, radioisotope heater units to manage frigid temperatures, and components for the Mars Organic Molecule Analyzer (MOMA), which will detect organic molecules in the samples.
If successful, the rover could land on Mars in 2030, potentially revealing whether the Red Planet was once a habitable world.
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Sources
- Summary by Intellect · source: ESA Euronews: Mars mystery - ExoMars mission
- Also: ExoMars Program - NASA Science
- Also: ExoMars: Europe
- Also: NASA, European Space Agency Unite to Land Europe’s Rover on Mars - NASA
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