ExoMars

Lore & Background

ExoMars began in 2001 as part of the ESA Aurora program for the human exploration of Mars. That initial vision called for a rover in 2009 and later a Mars sample-return mission. In December 2005, the different nations composing the ESA gave approval to the Aurora program and to ExoMars. Originally conceived as a rover with a stationary ground station, ExoMars was planned to launch in 2011 aboard a Russian Soyuz Fregat rocket. In 2007, Canadian-based technology firm MacDonald Dettwiler and Associates Ltd. (MDA) was selected for a one-million-euro contract with EADS Astrium of Britain to design and build a prototype Mars rover chassis for the European Space Agency. Astrium was also contracted

Reader's Guide

ExoMars represents a major European effort in planetary science and astrobiology, aiming to answer fundamental questions about the possibility of past life on Mars. Its first mission, launched in 2016, successfully placed the Trace Gas Orbiter into Mars orbit to map methane and other trace gases, while the Schiaparelli lander crashed during its landing attempt. The programme's second part, originally planned with Russia, was suspended in March 2022 due to the ongoing invasion of Ukraine by Russia. In April 2024, the mission received new funding to restart construction and delivery of the Rosalind Franklin rover using a new European landing platform, with NASA providing the launch, currently scheduled for late 2028. The programme's significance lies in its technological demonstrations for future sample-return missions and its international collaboration, which has shifted from NASA to Russia and back to NASA and European partners over two decades.

Did You Know?

• The Schiaparelli lander crashed on the surface of Mars after separating from TGO on 16 October 2016.
• The Trace Gas Orbiter features four instruments and acts as a communications relay satellite.
• ESA suspended the mission on 17 March 2022 due to the ongoing invasion of Ukraine by Russia.
• In April 2024, the mission received new funding to restart construction using a new European landing platform, with NASA providing the launch.

Programme Architecture & Scientific Ambitions

ExoMars, formally known as Exobiology on Mars, is the European Space Agency's dedicated astrobiology programme designed to probe whether life ever existed beyond Earth. The architecture spans three major spacecraft: the Trace Gas Orbiter, the Schiaparelli experimental lander, and the yet-to-be-delivered Rosalind Franklin rover. Together they pursue a layered scientific agenda—hunting for biosignatures left by ancient Martian life, charting how water and geochemistry have shifted across the planet's history, and tracking atmospheric trace gases whose origins might point to biological or geological processes. Equally important is the programme's engineering mandate: proving out the technologies a future Mars sample-return mission will depend on. The Trace Gas Orbiter carries four scientific instruments and doubles as a communications relay, while the lander and rover components are built to validate entry, descent, and surface operations. This multi-spacecraft, multi-phase design reflects ESA's ambition to build a complete Mars exploration capability rather than a single one-off flyby.

The 2016 Mission & Schiaparelli's Tragic Descent

The first phase of ExoMars lifted off on 14 March 2016, carrying both the Trace Gas Orbiter and the Schiaparelli test lander. Six months later, on 19 October, TGO settled into its designated Mars orbit and began its primary task: mapping the sources of methane and other trace gases that might hint at biological or geological activity beneath the surface. Meanwhile, Schiaparelli—designed specifically to demonstrate new technologies for safely delivering the future rover—separated from the orbiter on 16 October and was guided toward a landing in Meridiani Planum. The experiment ended in disaster: the lander crashed upon reaching the Martian surface. Despite the loss, the mission validated critical orbital and atmospheric-mapping capabilities. TGO continues to operate as both a science platform and a communications relay satellite for subsequent surface operations. The Schiaparelli failure, while painful, provided invaluable data on entry and descent dynamics that informed the engineering of the next-generation landing system now being prepared for Rosalind Franklin.

A Decade of Shifting Alliances

ExoMars has never been a purely European endeavour; its history is threaded with international partnerships that have repeatedly reshaped the mission's scope. The programme traces its roots to 2001 within ESA's Aurora programme, approved by member states in December 2005, with twelve nations initially contributing. In 2009, NASA and ESA signed the Mars Exploration Joint Initiative, proposing an Atlas launch vehicle and a combined multi-spacecraft architecture that included a second rover called MAX-C. But in February 2012, President Obama's FY2013 budget terminated NASA's participation to cover James Webb Space Telescope overruns, forcing a complete restructuring. Russia then stepped in: a March 2013 agreement made Roscosmos a full partner, supplying Proton launch vehicles with Briz-M upper stages and an additional entry-descent-landing module. The 2016 mission was launched on a Proton. Then, on 17 March 2022, ESA suspended the second mission entirely in response to Russia's invasion of Ukraine, severing the partnership that had anchored the programme's launch and landing architecture for over a decade.

Rosalind Franklin — The Road Ahead

The second ExoMars mission, centred on the Rosalind Franklin rover, has endured the most turbulent timeline of any major space programme in recent memory. Originally slated for the early 2020s with a Russian-built Kazachok lander and Roscosmos-supplied instruments, it was frozen in March 2022 amid the Ukraine conflict. The revival came in April 2024, when ESA secured fresh funding to restart construction and delivery using an entirely new European landing platform, with NASA agreeing to provide the launch vehicle. The current target is late 2028. The rover will carry a mix of European and, per the original agreement, some Roscosmos-built instruments, though the political landscape has shifted dramatically since that deal was signed. Day-to-day operations and communications will be directed from ALTEC's Rover Control Centre in Italy. For ESA, Rosalind Franklin represents more than a science payload; it is the culmination of two decades of planning, a test of European autonomy in deep-space logistics, and the final proving ground before humanity attempts to bring Martian samples back to Earth.