The landing platform of the Rosalind Franklin rover, whose panoramic camera system (PanCam) was designed and built by a UCL-led team, will be provided by aerospace company Airbus UK, the UK Government has announced.
The company won a £150 million contract, awarded by the European Space Agency, to engineer a touchdown system to land the rover safely and support its deployment on the red planet.
The first UK-built rover, due to depart for Mars in 2028, will drill two metres into the planet's surface to hunt for signs of ancient life, such as fossilised microbes, in an effort to find out how our solar system came to be. Exploring Mars is crucial to further our knowledge in climate shifts and may help answer whether life exists beyond our home planet.
Named Rosalind Franklin after the British scientist whose work was central to the understanding of the molecular structures of DNA, the rover will be the first European made rover to land on Mars.
Dr Louisa J Preston (Mullard Space Science Laboratory at UCL), a Co-Investigator on two of the rover's instruments, the PanCam and Enfys, said: "The Rosalind Franklin rover mission will be a unique, ground-breaking mission; the first sent to drill two metres into the crust of Mars, collecting and analysing samples that are up to four billion years old, with the goal of discovering evidence of past or even present life hidden beneath the surface.
"Rosalind is a truly international collaboration and the UK has taken a pivotal role in this through the development of the PanCam and Enfys instruments, building the rover, and now excitingly providing the landing platform.
"It is a privilege to be a part of this mission and we cannot wait to finally 'open our eyes' at Oxia Planum, the Martian plain where the rover will land, and begin this incredible adventure."
Professor Andrew Coates, Principal Investigator for PanCam and a Co-Investigator on Enfys, said: "I am excited to think that we will finally land the Rosalind Franklin rover on Mars in 2030. PanCam and Enfys will help us to decide where to drill. We can't wait to search for signs of life in the unique, pristine samples from the subsurface which Rosalind will collect."
The rover, entirely built in Stevenage by engineers from Airbus UK, is due to launch in 2028 with the support of NASA and land on Mars in 2030. It was ready to launch in 2022, until the European Space Agency cancelled its cooperation with Russia following the illegal invasion of Ukraine.
The UK Space Agency and international partners stepped up to replace Russian components in the mission, including the lander platform now under development in Stevenage, and an infrared spectrometer, Enfys ("rainbow" in Welsh), now led by Aberystwyth University with support from researchers at the Mullard Space Science Laboratory at UCL.
Enfys and the UCL-led PanCam will work together to identify minerals that could harbour evidence for life to enable the rover to drill for samples to be analysed by other instruments.
Under contract from aerospace company Thales Alenia Space (TAS), which is leading the overall ExoMars mission, Airbus teams in Stevenage will design the mechanical, thermal and propulsion systems necessary for the landing platform to ensure a safe touchdown for the rover in 2030.
This will include the landing structure, the large propulsion system used to provide the final braking thrust, and the landing gear to ensure the lander is stable on touchdown. The lander will feature two ramps that will be deployed on opposite sides to enable the rover to be driven on to the Martian surface using the least risky route.
Technology Secretary Peter Kyle MP said: "This inspiring example of world-class British science will bring us one step closer to answering long-asked questions on potential life on Mars.
"Landing the first ever home-grown rover on Mars, Airbus will not only help Britain make history and lead the European space race but also bring hundreds of highly skilled jobs and investment as we secure Britain's future through our Plan for Change."
