Airbus UK set to land Europe’s first rover on Mars

Airbus UK wins a £150 million-contract to engineer landing platform that will safely deliver the first European rover on Mars. First British-built rover will explore the red planet in 2030 for signs of present and past life on Mars.

The contract, awarded by the European Space Agency and funded by the UK government through the UK Space Agency will support the development of an advanced system designed to land the Rosalind Franklin rover on Mars and facilitate its deployment on the planet’s surface.

The first UK-built rover’s mission is to explore the red planet and drill 2 metres down into the surface to hunt for signs of ancient life, such as fossilised microbes, in an effort to find out how our solar system came to be. Exploring Mars is crucial to further our knowledge in climate shifts and may help answer whether life exists beyond our home planet.   

Named Rosalind Franklin after the British scientist whose work was central to the understanding of the molecular structures of DNA, the rover will be the first European made rover to land on Mars.  

The rover, entirely built in Stevenage by engineers from Airbus UK, is due to launch in 2028 with the support of NASA and land on Mars in 2030. It was ready to launch in 2022, until the European Space Agency cancelled its cooperation with Russia following the illegal invasion of Ukraine.   

The UK Space Agency and international partners stepped up to replace Russian components in the mission, including the lander platform now under development in Stevenage and a key science instrument now led by Aberystwyth University.  

"Getting the Rosalind Franklin rover onto the surface of Mars is a huge international challenge and the culmination of more than 20 years’ work.  Rosalind Franklin will be the first Martian rover able to analyse samples from 2 metres below the surface in its search for past or present life. The mission will supercharge our space know-how in the UK, and will advance our collective understanding of our solar system," - said Kata Escott, Managing Director Airbus Defence and Space UK.

Under contract from aerospace company Thales Alenia Space (TAS), which is leading the overall ExoMars mission, Airbus teams in Stevenage will design the mechanical, thermal and propulsion systems necessary for the landing platform to ensure a safe touchdown  for the rover in 2030.  

This will include the landing structure, the large propulsion system used to provide the final braking thrust, and the landing gear to ensure the lander is stable on touchdown. The lander will feature 2 ramps that will be deployed on opposite sides to enable the rover to be driven onto the Martian surface using the least risky route.

The US was the last nation to send a rover to Mars in 2021, when NASA’s Perseverance Mars rover collected samples on the red planet.

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