"The platform's four legs must ensure the rover survives its final moments of descent, equipped with shock absorbers and sensors designed to trigger engine shutdown upon touchdown on Mars. Timing is critical: switch them off too soon, and the landing might be harder than planned. Too late, and Martian soil might be blasted into sensitive places."
"The ExoMars team has faced repeated delays due to technical problems, and Russia's invasion of Ukraine put paid to a 2022 launch. The Russian space agency, Roscosmos, was supposed to provide a launch vehicle and lander for the rover, but cooperation was suspended mere months before the spacecraft was scheduled to travel to the Red Planet. The mission now targets a 2028 launch."
"In 2025, Airbus UK won a £150 million contract to complete the rover's landing system. NASA will contribute the launch vehicle, heater units, and rockets to assist with the landing. The 2028 launch is scheduled from Kennedy Space Center in Florida and is expected to go ahead between October and December. The bot will finally arrive at Mars in 2030."
ESA unveiled a full-scale structural mock-up of the ExoMars Rosalind Franklin rover landing platform to validate touchdown stability. The platform uses four legs with shock absorbers and sensors intended to trigger engine shutdown upon Mars touchdown, requiring precise timing to avoid a harder landing or soil being blasted into sensitive places. Tests include repeated drops onto various surfaces and higher-speed drops onto a moving sledge to simulate angled landings. The mission experienced delays from technical problems and suspension of Russian cooperation and now targets a 2028 launch with Airbus UK and NASA contributions, arriving at Mars in 2030.
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