ExoMars rover launch

ESA's Rosalind Franklin rover will drill two metres down for molecular traces of past life.

The story

The Rosalind Franklin rover is the European Space Agency's first attempt to put a rover on the surface of Mars, and its defining feature is a drill that reaches two metres down. Every rover sent so far has scratched the surface or the few centimetres just beneath it. This one is built to pull material from far deeper and analyse it on the spot.

Depth matters because the Martian surface is hostile to organic molecules. With no thick atmosphere and no global magnetic field, radiation arrives unblocked, and the soil contains oxidising compounds that break organics apart. Finding nothing at the surface would not prove that nothing ever lived there — it may only mean nobody has yet dug to where the evidence could survive.

The planned landing site is Oxia Planum, a broad exposure of clay minerals whose geology records water that stayed in place for a long time in the distant past. There the rover is meant to drill, deliver the core to an onboard laboratory, and determine whether organic molecules are present and what kind they are.

The mission's history, though, has been anything but smooth. Parachute test failures pushed the launch back, and in 2022 the end of cooperation with Russia removed the landing system and the launch vehicle at once, forcing both to be rebuilt or replaced. Years of delay followed. The launch is now planned for the 2028 window — planned, not fixed, and worth treating that way.

Why it matters

The question of whether Mars ever hosted life has so far been approached through circumstantial evidence. Riverbeds and deltas, lake sediments, minerals that only form in water — the case that Mars was wet for long stretches is thoroughly made. What remains unanswered is what organic chemistry actually did in that water.

That is the gap Rosalind Franklin aims at. It retrieves material from below the reach of radiation, undamaged, and analyses which organic molecules are present and how they are built. Molecules produced by biology and molecules produced by ordinary chemistry can differ in their proportions and in their symmetry, so what comes out of the drill and in what ratios is the basis for any judgement.

For Europe the mission also carries technical weight. Entry, descent and landing at Mars is the stage where missions most often fail, and European attempts have not yet achieved a working landing. Simply arriving intact and beginning to drive would establish that Europe can run a surface mission at Mars on its own terms.

How to watch

The launch is something you watch on a stream. ESA and the organisation providing the rocket will very likely cover the countdown and early flight, and Mars-bound spacecraft normally perform the burn that leaves Earth orbit within about an hour of liftoff, which usually falls inside the same broadcast. Since the date is not settled, the coverage schedule will only appear once the launch window is confirmed.

For the trajectory, use the orbit-view replay. The route to Mars is not a straight line but an ellipse around the Sun, and it only works when Earth and Mars are correctly placed relative to each other — which is what the phrase "launch window" means. Play it forward and you watch the departure orbit widen outward until it meets Mars months later.

In the real sky, look for Mars itself. It shows as a bright point with a distinctly orange cast, and around opposition it outshines everything near it. When it swings toward the far side of the Sun it fades noticeably. That change in brightness is simply the changing distance between the two planets, and it is the same geometry that makes launch windows come round only about every two years.

Background

The rover is named for Rosalind Franklin, whose X-ray diffraction work produced the data that made the structure of DNA readable. The scientist who helped decode the molecule of life on Earth now lends her name to a machine looking for the molecules of life on another planet.

ExoMars was designed as two stages. The first, an orbiter, reached Mars in 2016 and still works, measuring trace gases in the atmosphere; the landing demonstrator that travelled with it struck the surface and failed. The second stage is this rover, and when Russian participation ended the plan had to be rebuilt — Europe needed a new landing system of its own design and new partners to supply what it had lost.

Once launch happens, the next hurdles are months of cruise and then the few minutes of entry, descent and landing. Only after a successful touchdown does the drill start work. Other nations plan surface sampling and return attempts around the same period, so the years either side of 2030 look like a crowded stretch for Mars exploration.

FAQ

When will the ExoMars rover launch?

It is planned for the 2028 launch window. The mission has already slipped by years, first over parachute problems and then after Russian cooperation ended in 2022, so the date is best read as a target rather than a commitment. Arrival at Mars follows months of cruise after launch.

Why does the two-metre drill matter so much?

Radiation and oxidising compounds make it hard for organic molecules to survive at the Martian surface. Two metres down, those effects are greatly reduced, which makes it the depth where ancient organic material could plausibly still be preserved. It is ground no previous rover has been able to reach.

Is any of this visible to the naked eye?

The launch itself is only visible near the pad, and a spacecraft in cruise cannot be seen at all. Mars, however, is an easy naked-eye target with its characteristic orange tint, and it becomes very bright around opposition. Use the orbit-view replay here to follow the trajectory.

Why are Mars launches only possible every two years?

Earth and Mars circle the Sun at different rates, so the geometry that allows a fuel-efficient transfer comes round roughly every 26 months. That period is the launch window, and missing one means waiting more than two years for the next. It is why schedule slips are unusually costly for Mars missions.

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Times and figures are approximate — verify with official sources when planning travel. Simulation uses J2000 mean elements.