The second ExoMars mission will be launched in 2020 to target an ancient location interpreted to have strong potential for past habitability and for preserving physical and chemical biosignatures (as well as abiotic/prebiotic organics). The mission will deliver a lander with instruments for atmospheric and geophysical investigations and a rover tasked with searching for signs of extinct life. The ExoMars rover will be equipped with a drill to collect material from outcrops and at depth down to 2 m. This subsurface sampling capability will provide the best chance yet to gain access to chemical biosignatures. Using the powerful Pasteur payload instruments, the ExoMars science team will conduct a holistic search for traces of life and seek corroborating geological context information. Key Words: Biosignatures—ExoMars—Landing sites—Mars rover—Search for life. Astrobiology 17, 471–510.
Mobile robots are of high interest for unmaned planetary exploration. The very successful Pathfinder mission to Mars has impressively demonstrated the potential of mobile platforms for planetary exploration [1]. The European Space Agency (ESA) also started to develop concepts for micro-rovers for Mars missions. Within an interdisciplinary group of companies specialized in space applications and research labs new designs of micro-rovers have been investigated. Two concepts, a simple and robust one and an innovative one, have been selected and functional breadboard models of them are currently built. After a discussion of the key issues for robust locomotion the present paper will focus on the design and control of the more innovative solution. It consists of 6 independently driven wheels arranged in two triangles. It therefore allows not only for efficient rolling on flat surfaces but also to step on obstacles. Additionally the center of mass and the instrumentation carrousel is adjustable, allowing to optimally balance the micro-rover in almost every situation. Even after flipping over the robot will always be able to get back on its wheels.
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