• Question: Will ExoMars help us understand what is under the surface?

    Asked by JAMIES to Heather, Helen, Hugh, Jane, Julian on 7 Nov 2014.
    • Photo: Jane MacArthur

      Jane MacArthur answered on 7 Nov 2014:

      The ExoMars rover has a drill which will be used to sample the soil down to a maximum depth of 2 metres. This should help us understand more about the soil and rocks, their mineralogy (what they are made of) and how they formed.
      A ground penetrating radar instrument will help detect water under the surface and choose the best locations for drilling. Hydrated minerals (minerals which only could have formed in the presence of water) are of particular interest to scientists to understand the history of water on Mars.

    • Photo: Helen Johnson

      Helen Johnson answered on 10 Nov 2014:

      ExoMars and its rover sound incredibly exciting! Its drill, radar and imagers should allow us to build up a really detailed picture of the different layers of rock beneath the Martian surface. They will use what are called ‘spectrometers’ to analyse samples of rock and figure out what they are made from.
      The surface of Mars is very cold, dry, and bombarded by harmful UV radiation from the Sun, but the world underneath is more protected. It’s more likely that any kind of life (microorganisms) or its remains could be found there.
      Even though the rover isn’t due to land until 2019, scientists have already picked out 4 possible landing sites – ancient valleys, channels and craters that may have once been filled with water.

    • Photo: Julian Onions

      Julian Onions answered on 11 Nov 2014:

      Yes!

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