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ExoMars Rover Named After English Scientist Rosalind Franklin

Come 2020, not one but two rovers will begin their journey to Mars. The first is NASA’s yet unnamed rover, tasked with paving the way for human arrival at a later date, and the other part of the European Space Agency’s ExoMars project.
ExoMars Rosalind Franklin rover 1 photo
Photo: ESA/ATG medialab
As both rovers approach their due date, the final touches are being made. And those finishing touches include naming the machines.

In NASA’s case, the rover will get its official designation later this year, following a naming contest that will be set up for American students.

In ESA’s case, the naming contest was more of a British-type affair. A panel of experts combed through a shortlist of names submitted by the public and chose one. Last week, the British Science Minister Chris Skidmore announced the name of the rover: Rosalind Franklin.

Franklin was a British scientist who made major contributions to “the understanding of the fine molecular structures of DNA, RNA, viruses, coal, and graphite.” Pretty much the same work the rover will have to conduct on Mars.

Once it touches down, Rosalind Franklin (the rover) will try to learn more about the possible existence, be it now or sometime in the past, of life on the Red Planet. It will do so by using its instruments to drill two meters down into the Martian surface, take samples and analyze them.

This is the first rover sent to Mars by the Europeans, but it will use most of what was already learned by the Americans and their machines.

Rosalind Franklin will be powered by electricity generated by capturing light from the Sun and will use an incipient artificial intelligence to navigate its way.

The mission is scheduled to land near the Martian equator, in the Oxia Planum region, where scientists believe there’s the highest chance of finding traces of life.
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About the author: Daniel Patrascu
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Daniel loves writing (or so he claims), and he uses this skill to offer readers a "behind the scenes" look at the automotive industry. He also enjoys talking about space exploration and robots, because in his view the only way forward for humanity is away from this planet, in metal bodies.
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