A flagship mission of the Aurora program
2004
Consultants to European Space Agency (ESA)
In 2001, the European Space Agency endorsed the Aurora Program devoted to the study of the universe with the primary objectives of devising a long-term plan for the robotic and human exploration of the solar system and of searching for life beyond planet earth.
EXOMARS is the first flagship mission of the Aurora program and is committed to developing an orbiter, landing module, and rover that may conduct unmanned and later manned biological and geological studies on Mars. In cooperation with ESA, LIQUIFER Systems Group develops an overall envelope design for the rover. The final design proposal is an autonomous rover; it is propelled by solar energy and uses optical sensors and special software for navigation. The rover has a lightweight compact drilling system to collect and evaluate soil samples, and different scientific instruments to search for traces of past or present life.
LIQUIFER team Barbara Imhof, Georg Pamperl, Paul Mayr
Image credit: LIQUIFER Systems Group