Barnes, D. et al, The ExoMars rover and Pasteur payload Phase A study: an approach to experimental astrobiology, International Journal of Astrobiology (2006), 5:3:221-241 Cambridge University Press RAE2008The Aurora programme is the European Space Agency programme of planetary exploration focused primarily on Mars. Although the long-term goals of Aurora are uncertain, the early phases of the Aurora programme are based on a number of robotic explorer missions ? the first of these is the ExoMars rover mission currently scheduled for launch in 2013 (originally 2011). The ExoMars rover ? developed during a Phase A study ? is a 240 kg Mars rover supporting a 40 kg payload (called Pasteur) of scientific instruments specifically designed for astrobiological prospecting to search for evidence of extant or extinct life. In other words, ExoMars represents a new approach to experimental astrobiology in which scientific instruments are robotically deployed at extraterrestrial environments of astrobiological interest. Presented is an outline of the design of the rover, its robotic technology, its instrument complement and aspects of the design decisions made. ExoMars represents a highly challenging mission, both programmatically and technologically. Some comparisons are made with the highly successful Mars Exploration Rovers, Spirit and Opportunity.Peer reviewe

SD2 (Sampler, Drill and Distribution System), is one of the instruments onboard the lander Philae of the Rosetta mission. This system is of primary importance for the lander mission since it is in charge to collect comet's soil samples at different depths and to distribute them to different instruments for analysis. SD2 has to meet very stringent requirements in terms of volume, mass and power consumption, operative range and severe environmental conditions. An overview of SD2 is provided, with the description of the sample acquisition and distribution procedure and an outline of the technological innovative aspects.

No abstract

The Einstein Equivalence Principle (EEP) underpins all metric theories of gravity. Its key element is the local position invariance of non-gravitational experiments, which entails the gravitational red-shift. Precision measurements of the gravitational red-shift tightly bound violations of the EEP only in the fermionic sector of the Standard Model, however recent developments of satellite optical technologies allow for its investigation in the electromagnetic sector. Proposals exploiting light interferometry traditionally suffer from the first-order Doppler effect, which dominates the weak gravitational signal necessary to test the EEP, making them unfeasible. Here, we propose a novel scheme to test the EEP, which is based on a double large-distance optical interferometric measurement. By manipulating the phase-shifts detected at two locations at different gravitational potentials it is possible to cancel-out the first-order Doppler effect and observe the gravitational red-shift implied by the EEP. We present the detailed analysis of the proposal within the post-Newtonian framework and the simulations of the expected signals obtained by using two realistic satellite orbits. Our proposal to overcome the first-order Doppler effect in optical EEP tests is feasible with current technology.

No abstract