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Our role in the ExoMars mission
We are a group of engineers from Airbus and other companies who are response for the design, build and test of the ExoMars Rover. Most of us have been working on the Rover for many years and have been lucky enough to see the Rover being built on our site in Stevenage!
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What the team is working on now
Most the team are still involved in the Rover’s testing in Toulouse, although we are also starting to work on the next rover, called the Sample Fetch Rover
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What we’d do with the money
We would use the money to develop a new workshop for our STEM Centre involving mini robots that can demonstrate the key parts of the ExoMars mission
Our Team Members
Choose one to see their full profile
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Paul Meacham
My Work on the ExoMars Mission:
I am the Lead Systems Engineer on ExoMars Rover and have been working on the project for 11 years
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Abbie Hutty
My Work on the ExoMars Mission:
I have done lots of jobs on ExoMars! I started off leading the team that designed the structure (the body) of the rover, then I led the build and…
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Alex Taylor-Gates
My Work on the ExoMars Mission:
I am a Mechanical Engineer with a specialisation in Environmental Testing, I help build and test the Exomars Rover.
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Paul Norridge
My Work on the ExoMars Mission:
I lead the team that look after all the electrical bits of the rover – battery, solar power, computers, wiring, etc.
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Trevor Deacon
My Work on the ExoMars Mission:
I work to ensure electronic units and cables do not interfere with each other.
What the team is working on now
The flight model of the ExoMars Rover (the one that will actually go to Mars) is currently being tested in Toulouse, France. This involves making sure the Rover can survive launch and operate correctly when it gets to Mars. The tests include:
- Acoustic noise, literally blasting the Rover with sound waves
- Thermal cycling, taking the Rover to the hottest and coldest temperatures it will see on Mars
- Electro-magnetic compatibility, to make sure the Rover does not interfere with the communication link to the Orbiters around Mars
We will also need to support the Rover after these tests, as it is connected to the Descent Module and Carrier Module, which will protect it during the journey to Mars and then get it down to the surface safely. Finally, when it is ready for launch, we will help get the Rover on top of the rocket (called Proton) which will blast the Rover off to Mars.
We are also starting to work on the next Rover, called Sample Fetch Rover, which forms part of a bigger mission called Mars Sample Return. As the name suggests, the goal of the mission is to bring a sample of Martian soil back to Earth, and our Rover will help collect the samples and bring them back to the Mars Ascent Vehicle which will launch the samples off the Mars surface and back to Earth.
What we’d do with the money
The ExoMars Rover is a really inspiring mission for both our engineers and the general public. We have built a STEM Centre on the side of our Mars Yard in Stevenage, which allows school children and the public to see the prototype Rovers being tested in the Mars Yard, as well as doing various educational workshops and trying out the different workstations in the Education Zone.
If we won, we would use the money to develop a new workshop in the STEM Centre using mini robots (e.g. Lego Mindstorms, BBC Microbit) to demonstrate the key parts of the ExoMars mission, such as determining the best place to drill and take a sample, and how to drive around autonomously (i.e. letting the Rover drive itself across the surface of Mars).
We hope such a workshop would be really inspiring to all our visitors, hopefully encouraging them to follow a career in one of the STEM subjects (Science, Technology, Engineering, Maths).
We will send you a pack of resources in December, with your student login details and suggested lesson plans, for you to use in class.