The intricate mechanisms of the most sophisticated laboratory on Mars are revealed in Episode 4 of the ExoMars Rosalind Franklin series, called “Sample processing.” 

The Rosalind Franklin rover’s drill has a maximum reach of two metres – deeper than any other mission has ever attempted on the Red Planet. This depth allows access to well-preserved organic material from four billion years ago, when conditions on the surface of Mars were more like those on infant Earth. 

After receiving a sample from the drill, Rosalind’s laboratory must prepare the sample to make a detailed study of its mineral and chemical

An Australian company that is a leader in taking images of spacecraft in low Earth orbit is seeking to widen its aperture to monitor higher orbits, and even beyond.

Todd Harrison demonstrates the ‘Defense Futures Simulator’ that calculated eye-watering missile defense costs — and invites critics to prove him wrong with their own numbers.

ESA’s Mars Express takes us on another mesmerising flight over curving channels carved by water, islands that have resisted erosion, and a maze of hilly terrain.

Central to the tour is a 1300 km-long outflow channel called Shalbatana Vallis. It cascades down from the highland region of Xanthe Terra to the smoother lowlands of Chryse Planitia.

Billions of years ago, water surged through this channel, creating many of the features we see today.

The tour culminates in a spectacular view of a 100 km-wide impact crater, smashed out of Mars’s surface when it collided with a space rock.

Enjoy the flight, and be

Preparations for the second launch of Blue Origin’s New Glenn rocket, carrying a NASA Mars mission, remain on track for liftoff in the next few weeks.