The United States and Europe have moved into the next phase of the Rosalind Franklin mission to Mars, with work now beginning on critical systems needed to support the rover’s planned 2028 launch.
The mission, led by the European Space Agency, is expected to send the Rosalind Franklin rover to Mars no earlier than late 2028. The rover is designed to search for evidence of past or present life beneath the Martian surface, a scientific goal that sets it apart from earlier surface-based missions.
As part of the implementation phase, the United States will provide several major elements for the mission. These include launch services, braking engines for the landing platform, radioisotope heater units to help protect the rover’s internal systems from extreme cold, and parts of the Mars Organic Molecule Analyser, one of the rover’s core scientific instruments.
The analyser will study subsurface samples collected at Oxia Planum, the selected landing site on Mars. Scientists believe the area may preserve ancient material capable of offering clues about whether organic compounds linked to life once existed on the planet.
The latest step follows a 2024 agreement that expanded American support for the mission. Later that year, the project passed an important review milestone and cleared preliminary design requirements, allowing it to move forward into full implementation.
A Falcon Heavy rocket has been selected to launch the mission from Launch Complex 39A at Kennedy Space Center in Florida. The launch arrangement places one of the world’s most powerful operational rockets at the centre of an international effort to advance Mars exploration.
The Rosalind Franklin mission is regarded as a major scientific venture in the search for life beyond Earth. Its focus on drilling below the Martian surface could provide some of the strongest evidence yet about the planet’s ancient environment and its potential to have supported life.
