A UK-backed Mars rover is set to drill up to two metres beneath the surface of the Red Planet in a search for evidence of past or present life.
The Rosalind Franklin Rover. Credit: ESA
A Mars rover is a robotic vehicle designed to travel across the surface of Mars, taking images, studying rocks and soil, and using scientific instruments to investigate the planet.
The Rosalind Franklin rover is scheduled to launch in late 2028 and land on Mars in 2030 as part of the European Space Agency’s ExoMars programme, according to an updated UK Space Agency case study published on Wednesday.
The ExoMars mission asks “one of humanity’s most compelling questions: has life ever existed beyond Earth?”
According to the UK Space Agency, the European Space Agency created the ExoMars programme as “two missions working together to study Mars from orbit and, in the near future, from the planet’s surface.”
The agency said the Trace Gas Orbiter was already circling Mars and studying gases in its atmosphere, while the Rosalind Franklin rover would investigate the planet’s surface.
“These missions will help answer important questions about Mars: what the planet is made of, how its environment has changed over time, and whether it may once have supported life, or perhaps still does,” the agency said.
It added that data from the mission would also support wider studies of Martian chemistry and environmental science “to help us understand whether humans could once day go to Mars.”
Rover to drill beneath Martian surface
The Rosalind Franklin rover will search Mars’ surface for evidence of environments that may once have supported life and “may even still do so today.”
The UK Space Agency said the rover would have the “unique feature” of being able to drill down to two metres into the Martian surface to obtain samples.
“Samples taken from below the surface are better protected from the harsh radiation that affects the surface soil,” it said.
The samples will be analysed by an onboard laboratory to determine their mineral and chemical content and composition and search for evidence of past or present life.
The mission will land in the Oxia Planum region of Mars, which the agency described as an area containing ancient, clay-rich rocks dating back around 3.9 billion years.
Clay minerals usually form in the presence of water, so this landing site gives scientists a promising place to look for evidence that Mars may once have had conditions suitable for life,” the agency said.
The rover is named after Rosalind Franklin, the UK scientist whose work was central to understanding the structure of DNA.
“The name connects the mission’s search for life on Mars with a scientist whose discoveries transformed our understanding of life on Earth,” the agency said.
UK invests £490m in mission
The UK Space Agency said the UK had invested around £490m over the past 20 years in the programme, supporting more than 200 high-skilled jobs.
It added that 31 UK scientists were named mission instrument team members, while more than 100 UK scientists were involved in the programme more broadly.
“This support helps fund the science, engineering and technology that make the mission possible, from building the missions and their instruments to investigating the data and delivering world-class scientific excellence,” the agency said.
The Rosalind Franklin rover is being built by Airbus Defence and Space at the company’s UK facility in Stevenage.
The UK is also involved in the development of several scientific instruments on the rover.
The PanCam panoramic camera system is UK-led, with scientists from University College London’s Mullard Space Science Laboratory working with the University of Aberystwyth, Birkbeck College and the University of Leicester.
The agency said PanCam would take detailed images of the Martian surface, helping scientists build 3D maps to determine where the rover should drill and how to get there.
The University of Leicester, Bradford University and the Science and Technology Facilities Council’s Rutherford Appleton Laboratory are key partners in developing the Raman Laser Spectrometer.
The instrument can identify minerals and chemical compounds in Martian samples, “including some biomarkers – chemicals that may indicate past or present life,” according to the agency.
Aberystwyth University, together with the Mullard Space Science Laboratory, STFC Rutherford Appleton Laboratory and Qioptiq Ltd, is developing the rover’s infrared spectrometer, Enfys.
The agency said Enfys would further analyse the materials in rocks and help determine where the rover should go to drill for samples.
Mars orbiter finds water-ice
The Trace Gas Orbiter, which started orbiting Mars in 2016 and began science operations in 2018, continues to study the planet’s atmosphere.
According to the UK Space Agency, it “has relayed more data than all other Mars orbiters combined, including 13 million square kilometres of multispectral imagery.”
The orbiter uses four scientific instruments to detect and analyse trace gases.
It was particularly looking for methane, which was detected by ESA’s Mars Express mission in 2003.
“Methane is interesting because, on Earth, it can be linked to both biological and geological processes,” the agency said.
“On Mars, finding and understanding methane could help scientists work out whether the planet is still geologically active, or whether it has ever had conditions associated with life.”
However, the agency said the Trace Gas Orbiter “hasn’t recorded any methane yet”, although it had made other discoveries.
It helped detect hydrogen chloride in Mars’ atmosphere, providing scientists with new information about the planet’s chemistry and water cycle.
The orbiter also discovered water-ice at low latitudes.
“That matters because water is one of the most useful resources for future explorers: it could be turned into oxygen to breathe, fuel for journeys, and drinking water for thirsty astronauts,” the agency said.
“Finding accessible water-ice could therefore make future missions to Mars more practical.”
The orbiter’s CASSIS camera also produces high-resolution imagery of the planet to help prepare for future landings, including the Rosalind Franklin mission.
NASA, SpaceX involved
The UK Space Agency said that in early 2026, NASA approved the Rosalind Franklin Support and Augmentation project, known as ROSA, which will provide hardware and services for the mission.
NASA also selected SpaceX’s Falcon Heavy rocket to launch the rover from Kennedy Space Center.
“The launch is currently due for late 2028, subsequently landing on Mars in 2030,” the agency said.
The mission is aimed at investigating Mars from both orbit and its surface as scientists continue to examine whether the planet may once have supported life, or whether evidence of life could still exist beneath its surface.
