The European Space Agency (ESA) has signed a €522 million contract with a consortium led by Thales Alenia Space to further develop the ExoMars mission.

The consortium will be led by Italian company Thales Alenia Space. Its subsidiaries in France, Switzerland and Spain will be responsible for the airfoil, parachute, cameras and electronic control unit for the lander’s brake motors, as well as the rover’s electronics. Airbus Defense & Space from Great Britain will be responsible for the rover and the mechanical, thermal and propulsion systems of the lander, ArianeGroup from France will be responsible for the heat shield, OHB from Germany will be responsible for the flight module and ALTEC (Italy) from Italy will be responsible for the Rover Operation Control Center.

ExoMars launch is now planned for October-December 2028. As part of the mission, the Rosalind Franklin rover will be brought to the surface of the Red Planet, where it will search for biomarkers (compounds that indicate the possibility of life on the fourth planet after the Sun) with the help of boron. in the past or even now.