The ExoMars Mission of ESA's Aurora Programme

Abstract

The Aurora Programme of the European Space Agency is dedicated to the robotic and human exploration of the Solar System bodies holding promises of traces of life, In this frame the programme is also preparing Europe for a participation in a possible human mission to Mars, expected to become a reality by the years around 2030. In order to reach this goal a series of robotic Mars missions are planned. The acquisition of knowledge related to the existence of traces of past or present life on Mars is considered a prerequisite for future human missions. ExoMars, the first major mission of the Aurora programme, planned to be launched in 2009, foresees a Mars surface rover equipped with an "exobiology" or "astrobiology" payload package to examine several samples of mars soil and collect scientific data.