Airbus Defence and Space has been selected to build the landing platform for the European Space Agency's (ESA) ExoMars rover mission, a significant development after Russia's withdrawal from the project. The announcement, made late March 28 (Eastern time), confirms Airbus's role in a mission originally slated to use Russian technology. The platform is vital for the rover's safe arrival and deployment on Mars in 2030.
The landing platform manages the critical final descent phases, including the landing burn and subsequent deployment of the Rosalind Franklin rover via ramps. While Airbus hasn't disclosed the contract's value, ESA awarded Thales Alenia Space, the prime contractor, a €522 million ($565 million) contract in April 2024 to resume the mission, paused in March 2022. Russia's involvement, encompassing both the landing platform and launch via a Proton rocket, is now replaced by Airbus and a future NASA-procured launch vehicle.
“Getting the Rosalind Franklin rover onto the surface of Mars is a huge international challenge and the culmination of more than 20 years’ work,” said Kata Escott, managing director of Airbus Defence and Space U.K. Airbus will utilize its Stevenage, England facility, the same location where the Rosalind Franklin rover was assembled. “We are proud to have built the rover in our state-of-the-art Stevenage clean room and delighted now to develop the project to ensure its safe delivery to Mars,” Escott added.
NASA's collaboration is integral. A May 2024 agreement secures NASA's provision of throttlable braking engines and radioisotope heating units (RHUs) containing plutonium-238. These RHUs are essential for maintaining the rover's temperature, necessitating a launch from the United States. Once on Mars, Rosalind Franklin will analyze surface samples up to two meters deep, searching for evidence of past or present life. “This is humanity defining science, and the best opportunity to find if past life once existed on Mars,” stated Paul Bate, chief executive of the U.K. Space Agency.