Airbus to build lander for Europe’s first Mars rover after Russia dropped

The European Space Agency’s (ESA) Rosalind Franklin rover is back on course for a landmark trip to Mars, where it will probe the red planet for signs of extraterrestrial life.  ESA initially designed the Mars rover alongside Roscosmos, Russia’s space agency, as part of the ExoMars programme. The vehicle was set to launch in 2022, but when Russia invaded Ukraine, ESA severed ties with Moscow, putting the mission in jeopardy. Rosalind Franklin — named after the British chemist whose work was crucial to understanding the structure of DNA— was left without several key components, including a landing platform to safely…

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