The ExoMars ''Kazachok'' (; formerly ExoMars 2020 Surface Platform) was a planned robotic Mars lander led by

Roscosmos The State Corporation for Space Activities "Roscosmos", commonly known simply as Roscosmos (), is a State corporation (Russia), state corporation of the Russian Federation responsible for space science, space flights, List of space agencies, c ...

, part of the

ExoMars ExoMars (Exobiology on Mars) is an astrobiology programme of the European Space Agency (ESA). The goals of ExoMars are to search for signs of past life on Mars, investigate how the Martian water and geochemical environment varies, investigate ...

2022 joint mission with the

European Space Agency The European Space Agency (ESA) is a 23-member International organization, international organization devoted to space exploration. With its headquarters in Paris and a staff of around 2,547 people globally as of 2023, ESA was founded in 1975 ...

. ''Kazachok'' translates as "Little

Cossack The Cossacks are a predominantly East Slavic Eastern Christian people originating in the Pontic–Caspian steppe of eastern Ukraine and southern Russia. Cossacks played an important role in defending the southern borders of Ukraine and Rus ...

", and is also the name of an East Slavic folk dance. The plan called for a Russian

Proton-M The Proton-M, (Протон-М) GRAU index 8K82M or , is an Expendable launch system, expendable Russian heavy-lift launch vehicle derived from the Soviet Union, Soviet-developed Proton (rocket family), Proton. It is built by Khrunichev State R ...

rocket to launch the Russian-built lander that to deliver the ''Rosalind Franklin'' rover to the surface of Mars. Once safely landed, ''Kazachok'' would have deployed the rover and start a one Earth-year mission to investigate the surface environment at the landing site. The spacecraft was scheduled to launch in 2020 and land on Mars in mid 2021, but due to the failure of the entry parachutes to pass testing, the launch was moved to 20 September 2022. In March 2022, amidst the backdrop of the

Russian invasion of Ukraine On 24 February 2022, , starting the largest and deadliest war in Europe since World War II, in a major escalation of the Russo-Ukrainian War, conflict between the two countries which began in 2014. The fighting has caused hundreds of thou ...

, the European Space Agency voted to suspend their cooperation with Russia on the ExoMars mission.

Scientific instruments

The ''Kazachok'' lander project was led by

, but its scientific payload would also have included two European instruments and European contributions to four Russian-led instruments. The payload mass was to be about 45 kg and consists of the following instruments (plus an instrument interface and memory unit (BIP)):Controller for in-situ pressure and humidity measurements on board ExoMars 2020 Surface Platform
Nikkanen, Timo; Genzer, Maria; Hieta, Maria; Harri, Ari-Matti; Haukka, Harri; Polkko, Jouni; Meskanen, Matias. 20th EGU General Assembly, EGU2018, Proceedings from the conference held 4–13 April 2018 in Vienna, Austria, p.7507. April 2018. Developed by Finland. The sensors have extensive heritage from those in the ''Curiosity'' rover, ''Schiaparelli'' lander and ''Phoenix'' lander. ** Meteorological boom, incorporating: 3 atmospheric temperature sensors (MT3S); Solar Irradiance (SIS20) and Dust (DS20) sensors (developed by Spain); METEO-H (see above), and wind sensor (DSV). ** Anisotropic Magneto-Resistance (AMR) sensor to measure magnetic fields. Developed by Spain. ** Optical Depth Sensor (ODS). ** Microphone. ** MTK-L: Descent and Landing Unit (DB) for atmospheric temperature and pressure, and high atmosphere unit (BDVA) for sensing acceleration & angular rate. ** Upward-looking LIDAR (BDA). * A

magnetometer A magnetometer is a device that measures magnetic field or magnetic dipole moment. Different types of magnetometers measure the direction, strength, or relative change of a magnetic field at a particular location. A compass is one such device, ...

package (MAIGRET - MArtIan GRound Electromagnetic Tool), led by Russia, including electronics unit, fluxgate unit (UF-M) and Wave Analyser Module (WAM), the latter developed by the Czech Republic. * A set of four cameras (TSPP) plus data collection unit to characterise the landing site environment. Developed by Russia. * An IR Fourier spectrometer (FAST) to study the atmosphere. Developed by Russia. * Active Detection of Radiation of Nuclei-ExoMars (ADRON-EM). Developed by Russia, including a pulsed neutron generator (ING-10M), and a radiation dosimeter (Liulin-ML) from Bulgaria. * Multi-channel Diode-Laser Spectrometer (M-DLS) for atmospheric investigations. Developed by Russia. * Radio thermometer (RAT-M) for soil temperatures. Developed by Russia. * Dust particle size, impact, and atmospheric charging instrument suite (PK). Developed by Russia, including also contributions from Italy (MicroMED) and France (electrical conductivity sensor). * A

seismometer A seismometer is an instrument that responds to ground displacement and shaking such as caused by quakes, volcanic eruptions, and explosions. They are usually combined with a timing device and a recording device to form a seismograph. The out ...

(SEM). Developed by Russia. * Gas chromatography–mass spectrometry (MGAK) for atmospheric analysis. Developed by Russia. * INRRI (Instrument for landing/Roving laser Retroreflector Investigations), provided by Italy. ;Power source The science and communication instruments on the lander would have been powered by

solar panels A solar panel is a device that converts sunlight into electricity by using photovoltaic (PV) cells. PV cells are made of materials that produce excited electrons when exposed to light. These electrons flow through a circuit and produce direct ...

and rechargeable batteries. Russia previously evaluated the option of using a

radioisotope thermoelectric generator A radioisotope thermoelectric generator (RTG, RITEG), or radioisotope power system (RPS), is a type of nuclear battery that uses an array of thermocouples to convert the Decay heat, heat released by the decay of a suitable radioactive material i ...

(RTG) to power the science instruments, and a

radioisotope heater unit A radioisotope heater unit (RHU) is a small device that provides heat through radioactive decay. They are similar to tiny radioisotope thermoelectric generators (RTG) and normally provide about one watt of heat each, derived from the decay of ...

(RHU) to provide thermal control while on the frozen Martian surface.

Landing site selection

NASA-OxiaPlanum-GeologicalContext-Morphology-20140514

After a review by an ESA-appointed panel, a short list of four sites was formally recommended in October 2014 for further detailed analysis: * Mawrth Vallis * Oxia Planum * Hypanis Vallis * Aram Dorsum On 21 October 2015, Oxia Planum was chosen as the preferred landing site for the ExoMars rover, now the ''Rosalind Franklin'' rover, assuming a 2018 launch. But since the launch was postponed to 2020, Aram Dorsum and Mawrth Vallis are also being considered. ESA convened further workshops to re-evaluate the three remaining options and in March 2017 selected two sites to study in detail: * Mawrth Vallis * Oxia Planum After deliberation, ESA selected Oxia Planum to be the landing site in November 2018.

References

External links

ExoMars 2020
by NPO Lavochkin (in Russian)
ExoMars Rover and Surface Platform
at ESA's Planetary Science Archive {{Use British English, date=January 2014 ExoMars Landers (spacecraft) Cancelled space probes European Space Agency space probes Russian space probes Attached spacecraft Proposed astrobiology space missions Events cancelled due to the Russian invasion of Ukraine