Before humans can leave their boot prints on the dusty surface of Mars, many questions have to be answered and many problems solved. One of the most fundamental questions – one that has intrigued humankind for centuries – is whether life has ever existed on Mars, the most Earthlike of all the planets.Through its long-term Aurora Programme of solar system exploration, ESA is already preparing a series of robotic missions that will reveal the Red Planet’s secrets and pave the way for a human expedition in decades to come. A major step towards the realisation of this ambitious robotic programme was completed this week with the selection of two industrial teams to carry out the detailed design of the ExoMars rover and its Pasteur payload of scientific instruments.

The parallel Phase A studies for ExoMars, the first Flagship mission in the Aurora Programme, will be carried out by companies from ESA Member States and Canada.

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