Development of the ESA ExoMars Rover

Abstract

ExoMars, the first mission of ESA’s Aurora Exploration Programme is currently under development. ExoMars has important technology demonstration objectives, such as the qualification of an entry, descent and landing system and the development of a rover with sample acquisition capabilities. The mission’s scientific research will concentrate on the search for signs of past and present life and on the characterization of the Martian environment. This paper gives an overview of the ExoMars rover development activities and the main proposed configurations. It also addresses aspects of particular relevance to the Automation and Robotics community, such as locomotion, autonomous navigation, surface and subsurface sample acquisition, and sample preparation and distribution. 1