ExoMars
As evidence of life on Mars is still in
question, our fascination with the Red Planet intensifies. Over the
past decade, several spacecraft have orbited our neighbouring
planet to explore its climate, terrain and atmosphere. The ultimate
quest is to land man on Mars and enable human exploration of our
universe.
Aurora is the ESA programme to achieve this
quest. ExoMars is the first mission of this programme, a robotic
mission scheduled to be launched to Mars in 2016. The ExoMars
mission will deploy a highly mobile rover with an instrument suite
and drill that will reach soil samples up to two metres below Mars’
surface in search of traces of extinct or still existing life.
Although this ambitious programme is still in its infancy stage,
VEGA is already participating in many aspects. With nearly 30
years' experience in all phases of Space programmes, we have
invaluable experience and expertise in the area of space science,
from instrument development and testing, through to simulation
development, training and flight operations.