Mars' Oxia Planum Chosen As Preferred Location For Russia-EU ExoMars-2020 Landing - ESA

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Mars' Oxia Planum Chosen as Preferred Location for Russia-EU ExoMars-2020 Landing - ESA

Oxia Planum has been chosen as the landing site of joint Russia-EU ExoMars-2020 mission, the European Space Agency (ESA) said Friday.

MOSCOW (UrduPoint News / Sputnik - 09th November, 2018) Oxia Planum has been chosen as the landing site of joint Russia-EU ExoMars-2020 mission, the European Space Agency (ESA) said Friday.

Oxia Planum and Mawrth Vallis have been shortlisted as the two possible landing locations.

"The ExoMars Landing Site Selection Working Group has recommended Oxia Planum as the landing site for the rover and surface science platform that will launch to Mars in 2020," the ESA tweeted.

ExoMars is a joint mission of the ESA and Roscosmos. ExoMars-2020 is the second stage of the joint project. The first stage of the project included the launch of the European Trace Gas Orbiter (TGO) and the Schiaparelli Demonstrator Module.

Schiaparelli failed to achieve a soft landing, crashing on the surface of Mars in October 2016.

The ExoMars-2020 mission will include the launch of a European Mars rover and a landing module developed in Russia. The Russian landing platform, the final assembly of which is being conducted by Lavochkin NPO, will be equipped with 11 Russian and two European scientific instruments. The Mars rover will have seven European and two Russian scientific devices on board.

The mission is expected to be launched on July 25, 2020 and planned to reach Mars in March 2021.