Mars mission on course as last big construction deal signed

Europe’s plans to send a satellite and rover to Mars are a step closer to fruition following the contract signing for the final construction phase.

The ExoMars project, which had to be restructured after NASA pulled out of the agreement with the European Space Agency (ESA) last year, now looks much more secure following a deal with prime contractor Thales Alenia Space signed at this week’s Paris Air Show.

The 2016 and 2018 missions, planned in partnership with the Russian space agency, Roscosmos, will look for evidence of life on Mars and develop new capabilities in landing, roving, drilling and preparing samples to pave the way for a future sample-return mission in the 2020s.

Following a preliminary deal made in 2008, Thales Alenia Space has signed a €146m (£125m) contract to build satellite equipment that will search for evidence of life and a technology demonstrator for entry and descent on Mars in 2016.

The second part of the contract, worth €70m (£60m), will see the firm develop the navigation and guidance systems for the 2018 mission, design the rover system and build its analytical laboratory.

‘The award of this contract provides continuity to the work of the industrial team members of Thales Alenia Space on this complex mission, and will ensure that it remains on track for launch in January 2016,’ said Alvaro Giménez, ESA’s director of science and robotic exploration, in a statement.

The news is also good news for the UK space industry, which is building the rover itself and developing the imaging, sample retrieval and analysis equipment.

The 2016 satellite mission will focus on a trace gas orbiter (TGO) system to search for evidence of methane and other atmospheric gases that could be signs of active biological or geological processes.

It will also include an entry, descent and landing demonstrator module (EDM) that will demonstrate key technologies needed for the 2018 mission and future landing missions.

The 2018 mission itself will land on Mars the first rover capable of drilling to depths of 2m to collect samples that have been shielded from the harsh conditions on the surface, where radiation and oxidants can destroy organic materials. An additional surface platform will also use other scientific instruments to investigate the Martian environment.

Thales Alenia Space said progress on the 2016 mission was on track and structural tests on the EDM were being completed at the firm’s laboratories in Turin. Integration of the spacecraft flight model should begin by early 2014, with the launch slated for January 2016, it added.

The company also aims to carry out a mission preliminary design review for the rover mission by the spring of 2014, kicking off the final development phase in the second half of that year, with the mission scheduled for launch in May 2018.