🇬🇧 UK TO LAND EUROPE’S FIRST ROVER ON MARS BY 2030…MAY BE A BIT BEHIND Airbus UK will lead the touchdown system for the Rosalind Franklin rover, marking Europe’s first attempt to land a domestically built rover on Mars. Funded by a £150M contract from the European Space Agency and the UK Space Agency, the mission supports 200 high-skilled UK jobs and showcases British robotics and navigation tech. Named after DNA pioneer Rosalind Franklin, the rover will drill 2 meters into the Martian surface searching for signs of ancient life. Launch is set for 2028, with landing expected in 2030—powered by UK-designed systems built in Stevenage. Paul Bate, UK Space Agency CEO: "This is humanity defining science." Source: The Engineer