Europe plans to launch advanced Mars lander in 2035

image via Space.com

January 22, 2025, 5:00 PM

• •The European Space Agency (ESA) wants to develop key technologies for a Mars surface lander by the mid-2030s.
• •ESA is already planning to send the much-delayed, life-hunting Rosalind Franklin rover to Mars in the launch window opening in 2028.
• •The agency wants to get started early so as to "obtain enough elements on technology readiness, development timeline and budget estimates" to increase the mission’s chances of continuing after a key ESA ministerial meeting scheduled to take place in Bremen, Germany, in November.

The European Space Agency (ESA) wants to develop key technologies for a Mars surface lander by the mid-2030s. The agency is already planning to send the much-delayed, life-hunting Rosalind Franklin rover to Mars in the launch window opening in 2028. But the agency is already setting its sights on a more ambitious followup and wants to get started acquiring the necessary technologies and capabilities.

Read original article