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Replica ExoMars Rover Driving on Mock Martian Terrain Looks Surprisingly Real

After the American space agency hit the jackpot with the already incredible successful Perseverance rover and Ingenuity helicopter, Europeans are preparing to follow suit with a mission to the Oxia Planum region of Mars in 2023.
Replica ExoMars rover in testing facility in Italy 7 photos
Photo: ESA
Twin ExoMars rover testing in ItalyTwin ExoMars rover testing in ItalyTwin ExoMars rover testing in ItalyTwin ExoMars rover testing in ItalyTwin ExoMars rover testing in ItalyTwin ExoMars rover testing in Italy
ExoMars, or Rosalind Franklin, is the name of the rover they’ll be using to survey the Martian planes in search of, well, like all others are doing, life. The actual robot to be sent to the planet is still being put together but its sibling, a replica needed for testing purposes, is already hard at work in a simulated Martian environment somewhere in Italy.

You can see it in the gallery attached to this piece, as shot while inside the Mars Terrain Simulator in Turin. It is suspended by a device meant to trick it into experiencing the gravity of Mars (one-third that of Earth) and surrounded by the walls of the facility and some people in the background.

Yet, if one disregards all that surrounds the rover, one can’t help from noticing eerie similarities with the images we’re getting from Mars via NASA.

The ESA team did its best to replicate the Martian conditions, down to the color of the soil as we know it because that’s where this thing will work.

The rover is powered by solar panels and equipped with six wheels, as rovers usually are. All six were put through their paces in Italy as the replica rover was asked to move around, tackle a slight slope, and navigate the terrain with plenty of boulders around.

Several more months of testing will follow, with increasingly complex activities being planned, including some that will have the rover automatically correct deviations induced by the terrain to stay within 20 cm (8 inches) of its planned path.

ExoMars will be the first rover to be sent to Mars by the European Space Agency, a major moment for an organization that has been fighting to make its mark on space exploration for a very long time.
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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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