The Rosalind Franklin Mars Rover has passed its latest round of tests and is on course to blast off for the Red Planet in September, the UK Space Agency has revealed.
Part of the ExoMars mission, the rover is a joint project of the European Space Agency (ESA) and Russia’s Roscosmos, and was assembled in Stevenage, England.
The car-sized vehicle starts the year with months of successful maintenance and functional tests behind it, and confirmation that all instruments are ‘go for flight’.
It is currently in an ultra-clean room at the Thales Alenia Space premises in Turin, Italy, alongside launch partner, the Russian Kazachok landing platform.
There will be a final review in April, before the rover, and other components of the mission, are sent to the launch site in Baikonur, Kazakhstan, to prepare for lift-off.
The Rosalind Franklin Mars Rover has passed its latest round of tests, and is on course to blast off for the Red Planet in September, the UK Space Agency confirmed
Part of the ExoMars mission, the rover is a joint project of the European Space Agency (ESA) and Russia’s Roscosmos, and was assembled in Stevenage, England
Previously known as the ExoMars Rover, the Rosalind Franklin was due to launch for the Red Planet in the summer of 2020, around the same time as the NASA Perseverance rover, but was delayed by the coronavirus pandemic.
Officials at the European Space Agency felt more testing was needing, including of the descent parachute, before it was safe to launch and there wasn’t time to complete the necessary tests due to Covid-19 travel restrictions.
It is now scheduled to launch this September, arriving on Mars in June 2023.
‘The rover is ready, and together with the recent drop test success for the parachutes, we are positive to be in time for the September launch date,’ says Pietro Baglioni, ESA’s ExoMars rover team leader.
Only once every two years and for about ten days, celestial mechanics would allow the spacecraft to reach Mars from Earth in the shortest possible time – nine months.
Once it gets to Mars it will undergo a ‘nerve-wracking’ descent to the surface, after which Rosalind Franklin will leave the landing platform and drive on the Red Planet.
If this goes to plan, ESA will become only the fourth agency to operate a vehicle on another world – following the Soviet Union, NASA and China.
In preparation for this moment, the twin of the Rosalind Franklin rover successfully left the platform during recent tests in a Mars terrain simulator in Turin.
While the driving during these exercises takes about 15 minutes, the whole process will last a few Martian days, due in part to time delays.
‘The egress is a long and crucial operation. We need to be gentle and run it in a very slow motion for extra safety,’ said Andrea Merlo, ExoMars head of robotics from Thales Alenia Space.
The landing platform has two exit ramps: one at the front and another one at the back. Rosalind is designed to negotiate steep inclines on the ramps, but it is up to ground control on Earth to decide which is the safest way to drive off.
After landing, the rover will be busy for over a week unfolding its wheels and deploying the mast, among other preparations.
It is only possible to make the shorter, nine month long journey to Mars every two years, which is why the rover couldn’t launch last year
The ExoMars twin rover, until now known as the Ground Test Model, has a new name: Amalia, named after Professor Amalia Ercoli Finzi, a renowned astrophysicist with vast experience in spaceflight dynamics
‘Once the six wheels hit the martian surface, it will be the beginning of the story for this rover on Mars. We feel ready and are really looking forward to the real mission,’ said Merlo.
The ExoMars twin rover, until now known as the Ground Test Model, has a new name: Amalia, named after Professor Amalia Ercoli Finzi, a renowned astrophysicist with vast experience in spaceflight dynamics.
Amalia Ercoli Finzi was the first woman to graduate in aeronautical engineering in Italy, and besides serving as a scientific advisor for ESA and NASA.
She designed the drill on Rosetta’s Philae lander, that touched down on the surface of the comet 67P/Churyumov–Gerasimenko.
She also strongly pushed for the development of the ExoMars drill 20 years ago.
‘I am flattered and honoured to have this essential element of the ExoMars mission named after me. Mars is waiting for us,’ said Amalia after receiving the news.
Engineers are using the Amalia rover to recreate different scenarios and help them take decisions that will keep Rosalind safe in the challenging environment of Mars.
The model is fully representative of what the rover will be able to do on the Red Planet, albeit under Earth gravity and atmospheric conditions.
Amalia has so far demonstrated drilling soil samples down to 5ft 5 inches (1.7 metres) and operate all the instruments while sending scientific data to the Rover Operations Control Centre (ROCC) in Turin, Italy.
This is the operational hub that will orchestrate the roaming of the European-built rover on Mars, and use the Trace Gas Orbiter, currently in orbit around Mars, to relay data from Rosalind Franklin back to Earth.
The ESA-Roscosmos Trace Gas Orbiter is currently carrying out its own science mission, and relaying data from NASA’s Perseverance rover.
Before any of that can happen, Rosalind Franklin, the lander, spacecraft and other equipment will make their way to Russia – a final trip on Earth.
‘Just before that last trip on Earth, we will upload the final version of the software that will allow the rover to scout Mars autonomously,’ explained Baglioni.
The ESA-Roscosmos ExoMars 2022 mission will launch on a Proton-M rocket with a Breeze-M upper stage from Baikonur, Kazakhstan, in the 20 September – 1 October 2022 launch window.
There will be a final review in April, before the rover, and other components of the mission, are sent to the launch site in Baikonur, Kazakhstan, to prepare for lift-off
Engineers are using the Amalia rover to recreate different scenarios and help them take decisions that will keep Rosalind safe in the challenging environment of Mars
A carrier module will transport the descent module with the Rosalind Franklin rover and Kazachok surface science platform inside, to Mars.
Once landed safely in the Oxia Planum region of Mars on 10 June 2023, the rover will drive off the surface platform, seeking out geologically interesting sites to drill below the surface, to determine if life ever existed on our neighbour planet.
Sue Horne, Head of Space Exploration at the UK Space Agency, said the rover showcases some of the best of the UK space sector.
‘It’s very exciting to see this flagship mission pass the latest tests and see the fruition of many years’ hard work as we look forward to the launch later this year.’
***
Read more at DailyMail.co.uk