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A theoretical instrument that would search for individual microbes on the surface of Mars.

Oxia Planum lies at the boundary where water channels emptied into Mars' lowland. Observations show that the region has layers of clay-rich minerals that were formed in wet conditions some four billion years ago, likely in standing water.

Two candidates were considered for the ExoMars landing site - Oxia Planum and Mawrth Vallis. Both preserve a geological record of Mars' wetter past.

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Illustration of the ExoMars rover, Rosalind Franklin.Credit: ESA

Oxia Planum lies at the boundary where water channels emptied into Mars' lowland. Observations show that the region has layers of clay-rich minerals that were formed in wet conditions some four billion years ago, likely in standing water.ESA

The two candidates for the landing site of the ESA-Roscosmos rover and surface science platform that will launch to the Red Planet. Both landing site candidates – Oxia Planum and Mawrth Vallis – preserve a rich record of geological history from the planet’s wetter past billions of years ago. They lie just north of the equator, separated by a few hundred kilometres, in a region with many channels cutting through from the southern highlands to the northern lowlands.The background used in this image is from NASA’s Viking orbiters.NASA/JPL/USGS

Mission name: Exobiology on Mars (ExoMars) Rover

Rosalind Franklin ExoMars Rover

Establishing if life ever existed on Mars

Launch Date Not before 2028
Arrival Date Not before 2028
Mission TypeLander/Rover
TargetMars

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Mission Overview
The European Space Agency’s Exobiology on Mars (ExoMars) program includes a series of missions designed to study the potential for past life on the red planet. The first phase ExoMars was the launch of the Trace Gas Orbiter in 2016. The next step for ExoMars is the delivery of the rover, Rosalind Franklin, to the martian surface. Rosalind Franklin is equipped with cameras as well as a drill that will allow the rover to drill up to two meters and collect data from the sub-surface of the planet.

An onboard laboratory will process samples and deliver them to three instruments. Minerals will be characterized by the MicrOmega instrument; a Raman spectrometer will provide data concerning mineralogical composition; and part of the Mars Organics Molecule Analyser (MOMA) will study and identify soil chemistry.

Relevance to Astrobiology
The science objectives of the Rosalind Franklin rover have direct relevance to astrobiology. A major goal of the mission is to look for organics in samples collected by the rover’s drilling efforts. After pristine material is gathered from beneath the martian surface, samples of particular scientific interest will be placed in the MOMA ovens. Vapor released from heated samples will be analyzed with gas chromatography for traces of organic compounds. Organic compounds are chemicals that contain carbon, and are not themselves a sign of life. However, certain specific organic molecules are found in cells and, if discovered, might provide clues about the potential for life on Mars.

NASA Astrobiology Involvement
The NASA Astrobiology Program has contributed resources to aid in the scientific, engineering, and technical development of the ExoMars Rosalind Franklin rover. NASA’s participation includes providing critical elements to the rover’s astrobiology instrument, the Mars Organic Molecule Analyzer (MOMA). MOMA is designed to examine organic molecules, the chemical building blocks of life.

The Astrobiologists
ESA’s ExoMars program will provide an immense contribution to the body of knowledge about Mars’ past and present. Astrobiologists supported by the NASA Astrobiology program will use this data to further our understanding of past environments on Mars that could have been habitable for life as we know it.

In addition to supporting the MOMA instrument, international scientists with strong ties to the Astrobiology Program are directly involved with all stages of the ExoMars mission, including researchers with the The Astrobiology Society of Britain (ASB). The ASB was an international partner of the former NASA Astrobiology Institute (NAI) element of the NASA Astrobiology Program.

Mission news and discoveries

The Library of Congress presents Space on the Page!March 16, 2022

Universal Life Detection: Astrobiology & Assembly TheorySeptember 02, 2021

ExoMars to Launch in 2022March 14, 2020

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Mission Facts

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The Rosalind Franklin ExoMars rover's PanCam suite. The rover is pictured here at Airbus Defence and Space, Stevenage, UK.

Rosalind Franklin's drill is housed at the front of the rover. It will collect samples with the drill and deliver them to the Analytical Laboratory Drawer in the body of the rover, via the sample delivery window. Not all instruments are visible here.

$British Scientist Rosalind Franklin performed research in x-ray diffraction that provided our understanding of DNA. Franklin features in Issue 1 of the Astrobiology Graphic Histories: https://astrobiology.nasa.gov/resources/graphic-histories/$

Panoramic Camera system (PanCam)Rosalind Franklin's view of Mars

The Rosalind Franklin ExoMars rover’s PanCam suite sits on top of a mast 2 m above ground level. PanCam will be fundamental in the day-to-day scientific operations of the rover.

TouchdownRosalind's Landing Site

Oxia Planum lies just north of the martian equator and holds a geological record of Mars’ wetter past. Here, channels of water are thought to have emptied into the vast martian lowland.

Instruments for AstrobiologyRosalind's Drill and Cameras

The Rosalind Franklin rover is 310 kg. The drill is housed at the front of the rover. Samples are delivered to the Analytical Laboratory Drawer in the body of the rover via the sample delivery window. Not all instruments are visible in this schematic.

Naming the RoverRosalind Franklin

The work of British scientist, Rosalind Franklin, led to the discovery of DNA and was a critical step in our understanding of life. She features in Issue 1 of the Astrobiology Graphic History.: https://astrobiology.nasa.gov/resources/graphic-histories/

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