In April 2026, the National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA) announced that SpaceX’s Falcon Heavy rocket will launch the European Space Agency (ESA)’s Rosalind Franklin rover to Mars, in 2028.
- It will be launched from Launch Complex 39A at Kennedy Space Center in Florida, the United States of America (USA).
About Rosalind Franklin rover:
Project: NASA has approved the implementation of Rosalind Franklin Support and Augmentation (ROSA) project. It is part of the ExoMars mission.
Objective: Under the mission, the Rosalind Franklin rover will drill up to 2 meters(m) beneath Mars’ surface to search for signs of past or present microbial life, becoming the first Mars rover to explore subsurface life on the Red Planet.
Role of NASA: Under ROSA project, NASA will facilitate critical support systems and technologies to ensure the success of the mission: include launch services, braking engines for the landing platform, and radioisotope heater units to maintain internal temperature of the rover in extreme martian conditions.
Background: In 2024, a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) was signed between NASA and ESA, formalizing the agreement to expand NASA’s role in the ExoMars programme.
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