Rosalind Franklin (rover)

Rosalind Franklin is the European Space Agency's planned ExoMars rover, a six-wheeled robotic explorer intended to search for signs of past or present life on Mars. It is named for the British chemist whose X-ray work helped reveal the structure of DNA. The rover is built by Airbus, has a mass of about 310 kilograms, and carries instruments including PanCam, MOMA, MicrOmega, WISDOM and CLUPI, with a design life of at least seven months on the surface. Its distinctive capability is a drill meant to reach material two meters below the surface, where radiation has not destroyed organic molecules. The mission lost its Russian partner in 2022, which forced a new landing platform and a change of launch vehicle, and NASA rejoined as a partner. As of the source's last update the rover is still in development: launch is targeted for October 2028 on a Falcon Heavy, with arrival at Oxia Planum planned for late 2030.