4 minute read•Updated 11:58 AM EDT, Sun March 30, 2025
Airbus Defence and Space are set to take on a crucial role in reigniting Europe's flagship Mars exploration mission following its selection by the European Space Agency (ESA) and Thales Alenia Space to build the landing platform for ExoMars; replacing a component that was originally to be supplied by Russia.
The ExoMars mission, which is now targeting a 2028 launch and a 2030 landing on the Red Planet, was paused indefinitely in March 2022 following the suspension of ESA’s cooperation with Russia due to its invasion of Ukraine. The Russian space agency Roscosmos had been responsible for the mission’s launch and the Kazachok landing platform.
Airbus will now assume that critical role, designing and constructing a new European landing platform capable of executing the mission’s final descent and landing sequence.
Once on the Martian surface, the platform will deploy ramps to allow the mission’s centerpiece—the Rosalind Franklin rover—to drive onto the terrain and begin its search for signs of life.
“Getting the Rosalind Franklin rover onto the surface of Mars is a huge international challenge and the culmination of more than 20 years’ work,...We are proud to have built the rover in our state-of-the-art Stevenage clean room and delighted now to develop the project to ensure its safe delivery to Mars.” - Kata Escott, Managing Director of Airbus Defence and Space UK.
The new landing platform will also be assembled at Airbus’s Stevenage facility in England, the same site where the Rosalind Franklin rover itself was built.
While Airbus did not disclose the contract’s value, the U.K. government confirmed it is worth £150 million ($194 million). This contract forms part of the broader €522 million ($565 million) ESA awarded to Thales Alenia Space in April 2024 to restart work on the mission after its two-year hiatus.
The redesigned ExoMars mission now includes additional contributions from NASA. Under an agreement finalized in May 2024, NASA will provide several critical technologies, including throttlable braking engines—essential for a soft and precise landing on Mars—and radioisotope heating units (RHUs) that will keep the rover warm during the frigid Martian nights using the heat from decaying plutonium-238.
Due to the presence of these RHUs, ExoMars will no longer launch from Europe but instead from the United States, with NASA responsible for securing the launch vehicle.
Once safely on the Martian surface, the Rosalind Franklin rover will begin a groundbreaking scientific campaign. Equipped with a suite of advanced instruments, the rover is designed to search for both ancient and potentially extant life. A key feature is its unique two-meter drill, which will allow scientists to study subsurface samples shielded from the harsh radiation environment on Mars—areas that may better preserve organic material or biosignatures.
“This is humanity-defining science, and the best opportunity to find if past life once existed on Mars...Today’s announcement is a clear signal that Europe remains at the forefront of planetary exploration and international cooperation.” - Paul Bate, Chief Executive of the U.K. Space Agency.
The restructured ExoMars mission marks a revival of one of Europe’s most ambitious planetary science efforts. With Airbus, ESA, NASA, and Thales Alenia Space now fully committed, the mission is once again on a path toward uncovering answers of the red planet.
