ExoMars 2022 is a second mission of two-part astrobiology project to search for evidence of life on Mars, a joint mission of the European Space Agency and the Russian space agency Roscosmos that consists out of surface module with a rover onboard. The primary objective is to land the rover at a site with high potential for finding well-preserved organic material, particularly from the very early history of the planet. The rover is expected to travel several kilometers during its mission. The European rover will be the first mission to combine the capability to move across the surface and to study Mars at depth. It will collect samples with a drill down to a depth of 2 m and analyze them with next-generation instruments in an onboard laboratory. Underground samples are more likely to include biomarkers, since the tenuous martian atmosphere offers little protection from radiation and photochemistry at the surface. While the rover will drive away from the surface platform to perform scientific investigations within several kilometers of the landing site, the Russian-made platform will remain stationary and will investigate the local surface environment for its normal mission lifetime of one Earth year. The main science priorities for the platform are context imaging of the landing site, long-term climate monitoring, and atmospheric investigations. Sensors and instruments will also study the subsurface water distribution at the landing site, investigate the exchange of volatiles between the atmosphere and the surface, monitor the radiation environment and compare it with measurements made with the radiation dosimeter on the Trace Gas Orbiter, and carry out geophysical investigations of the planet's internal structure.
Khrunichev State Research and Production Space Center is a Moscow-based producer of spacecraft and space-launch systems, including the Proton and Rokot rockets and is currently developing the Angara rocket family. The Proton launch vehicle launches from Baikonur and Rokot launches from Baikonur and Plesetsk. Angara will launch from Plesetsk and Vostochny.
INFO WIKIWhile the European Space Agency has secured funding to continue the ExoMars mission for a 2028 launch, that plan requires cooperation with NASA that has yet to be finalized.
"I am very glad to say that we have found a positive way forward."
A key official for Europe’s ExoMars mission believes that the rover’s launch will be pushed back until at least 2028 to accommodate changes after ending cooperation with Russia.
The European Space Agency is continuing discussions with NASA on how the agencies can work together to revive ESA’s ExoMars mission after ending cooperation with Russia.
ESA has formally halted plans to launch its ExoMars mission on a Russian rocket in September in response to Russia’s invasion of Ukraine.
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