The European Space Agency's "Rosalind Franklin" rover has undergone months of maintenance and functional testing, and Pietro Baglioni, head of the European Space Agency's ExoMars rover team, said the rover was ready, coupled with the recent successful parachute descent test, and was confident it would catch the September launch in time.
Sometimes Earth is chasing Mars, sometimes away from Mars, and meets about every 26 months. The ExoMars mission has not been affected by the epidemic and parachute problems have not caught up with the launch window that opened in July 2020, and this year's launch window is from September 20 to October 1.
The European Space Agency intends to launch a Mars exploration mission on September 20, Central European Daylight Time, a journey that will take about nine months and is expected to land on June 10, 2023, on the Oxia Planum of Mars, which used to or once had large areas of water.
Professor John Bridge of the University of Leicester, a member of the "Landing Site Selection Working Group", has said that the fine sediments of the Okshaw Plain are very suitable for rover drilling.
The current Rosalind rover is located in the ultra-clean room of Thales Alenia Aerospace in Turin, Italy, next to the Cossack Dance landing platform. After the final assessment at the end of March, the rover, landing platform, descent module, launch module, etc. will be transferred to the Baikonur launch site in preparation for the September launch.
The launch module will send the descent module carrying the Rosalind Franklin rover and the Cossack Dance landing platform to Mars. After landing on Mars, the next step is to have the Rosalind rover drive off the landing platform, step onto the Martian soil, and choose a location to drill to find out if the Red Planet ever existed. The landing platform has 2 exit ramps in front and behind, and the Rosalind rover is designed to cross the slope, but it depends on ground control on Earth to determine which way to drive out the safest way.
The wheel of "Amalia"
Rosalind's twin rover Amalie ground test model has recently been able to successfully leave the landing platform during tests in the Mars Terrain Simulator. Amalia, which is also used to test drilling and analyze rocks, has demonstrated drilling of soil samples under 1.7 meters and sent scientific data to the rover Operations Control Center.
On Mars, once the six wheels of the Rosalind rover set foot on the surface of Mars, its story on Mars really begins. After stepping into the Martian soil, the rover will unfold its wheels, deploy masts, and do inspections for more than a week.
Pietro said it's not long before the 2023 European rover joins the ranks of other rover drivers.