NASA Mars Exploration Rovers and ESA’s Mars Express orbiter have contributed greatly to our current perception of what Mars must once have been like – a planet that was perfectly habitable in its early history and upon which simple life could have evolved and survived. As yet, no compelling data towards evidence of life on Mars has been presented, leading both ESA and NASA to devise strategies to explore the red planet for its possible biological history.

The ESA Ministerial Conference of 5 - 6 December 2005 has given the green light to ESA's ExoMars rover mission.
This will be highlighted in this session and there will be a presentation on its objectives and status, as well as presentations from scientists who are preparing instruments for this mission.  ExoMars will be the first attempt since Viking - in 1976 - to search for traces of life on Mars.

Session:  BG7.01/PS8 Astrobiology and Mars: robotic Mars exploration and the search for evidence of life on Mars | >>programme