EXOMARS 2020 mission Descent module & Rover batteries

Abstract

“Sojourner” (NASA Pathfinder mission) was the very first tiny 10.6 kgs Martian rover landing on Mars 24 years ago. It was powered by solar panels backed by a primary battery [1]. The EXOMARS 2020 mission intends to land a new rover on the surface of Mars. It is a European Space Agency (ESA) program executed in cooperation with Russian Space Agency (Roscosmos) with contribution of NASA. The spacecraft is composed of a carrier module, a descent module developed by ThalesAleniaSpace in Italy in partnership with Lavochkin in Russia; and a Rover developed by Airbus DS UK under the prime contractor responsibility Thales Alenia Space Italia. The launch is scheduled for July 2020. Batteries - including cells - for the descent module and the rover [2] were developed and manufactured by Saft (F).