ESA ExoMars and Russia's Stationary Surface Platform are set for a mission. The duo will explore Mars for the sake of Russia.
The European Space Agency's ExoMars along with Russia's Stationary Surface Science Platform are now set for a launch in July 2020, Phys reported. Meanwhile, it's becoming difficult to select a landing site for the two because the site must not only be scientifically interesting but is safe.
To support the exploration of the ESA ExoMars and Russia's Stationary Platform, the Trace Gas Orbiter will serve as their relay station while the latter is on its own science mission. The mission of the duo is to find proof whether life ever existed on Mars billion years ago that's why a location for the landing should be around 3.9 billion years old.
Aside from this, in a report published in NBC News, it clearly stated the involvement of Russia in the Europe's ExoMars rover and joint exploration with the Russia Stationary Platform. Specifically, Russia is the assigned in building a more established landing system for the ESA ExoMars rover.
The rover will drill up to a deep measurement of six feet beneath the Martian soil to find evidence and biological proofs of life that ever existed on the red planet. The ESA ExoMars rover will also serve as the mission's module carrier in 2018.
This exploration will also serve as Russia's ace in Mars exploration since the red planet does not give the nation such kindness. To recall, Russia's last landing on Mars happened in 1971, which was never followed for Russia's Mars missions never even get to the Earth orbit.
According to the Director-General of ESA Jean-Jacques Dordain, this mission of ESA ExoMars and Russia's Stationary Surface Science Platform will remain a unique one. And when a landing site was confirmed early in 2018, the joint mission will bring a major innovation as compared with anything before that ever happened on the surface of Mars.
