Sener is responsible for critical systems in ESA's ExoMars Rosalind Franklin rover, including separation mechanisms, structure elements, and locomotion systems.
The suspension of ESA-Russia cooperation left the Rosalind Franklin rover without its Russian-built landing platform and Proton-M launch vehicle.
The ExoMars Rosalind Franklin rover is scheduled for launch in 2028.
SpaceX has been formally awarded the launch service for ESA’s ExoMars Rosalind Franklin mission on a Falcon Heavy rocket.
NASA has completed two of the three main commitments for ESA’s ExoMars Rosalind Franklin mission.
The first flight-ready RHU unit from Perpetual Atomics is planned to fly on the Rosalind Franklin rover’s landing platform.
NASA will supply three key elements for the Rosalind Franklin mission under a Memorandum of Understanding signed in May 2024.
NASA has committed to provide launch services and Radioisotope Heater Units for the Rosalind Franklin mission, in addition to the braking engines.
NASA selected SpaceX’s Falcon Heavy rocket for the Rosalind Franklin mission in April 2026.
NASA has delivered the first braking engines for the European Space Agency’s Rosalind Franklin mission to Mars.
NASA’s Radioisotope Heater Units will keep the Rosalind Franklin rover’s electronics warm during the mission.
The Rosalind Franklin mission was originally designed around a Russian-built landing platform and Proton-M launch service.
ESA suspended all work on the Rosalind Franklin mission in March 2022 after Russia’s invasion of Ukraine.
The first flight-ready Radioisotope Heater Unit produced by UK-led Perpetual Atomics is expected to fly aboard the Rosalind Franklin rover’s landing platform.
Europe is replacing most of the Russian-built hardware for the Rosalind Franklin mission under a €522 million contract awarded to Thales Alenia Space in April 2024.
The ExoMars structural models represent the Rosalind Franklin rover, the Carrier Module, the Entry, Descent and Landing Module, and the Landing Platform.
The White House’s FY2027 budget request published in April 2026 provides no funding for NASA’s Rosalind Franklin rover participation element.
The Rosalind Franklin rover carries a drill capable of reaching up to two meters below the surface to collect and analyze protected samples.
The ExoMars 2028 flight configuration is designed to carry the Rosalind Franklin rover safely to Mars.
The ExoMars 2028 structural models represent the Rosalind Franklin Delivery System, including the Carrier Module and the Entry, Descent, and Landing Module.