Overview
- NASA, which approved its ROSA support package Thursday, selected a SpaceX Falcon Heavy to launch the ESA rover from Kennedy Space Center no earlier than late 2028.
- Under the ROSA plan, NASA will supply braking engines for the descent stage, radioisotope heater units to keep the rover warm, electronics, and a mass spectrometer, while ESA provides the rover, cruise stage, lander, and surface operations.
- SpaceNews reports the launch contract is valued at $175.7 million, awarded through NASA’s Launch Services Program for a flight from Launch Complex 39A.
- Rosalind Franklin’s key tool is a drill that can reach about two meters below the surface to sample material more likely to preserve organic molecules than the radiation‑blasted topsoil at Mars.
- Budget risk persists after a 2027 proposal to cancel U.S. support, yet lawmakers signaled opposition to cuts, and mission teams still face parachute and landing‑system integration work with a hard deadline set by the late‑2028 window, with a slip pushing to 2030 and what would likely be SpaceX’s first Mars launch.