Aurora Science 2017; UK Supports Space Exploration

The first mission in the Aurora programme, ExoMars, will search for traces of past and present life.

The ExoMars Trace Gas Orbiter, or TGO for short, will be sent out to detect and characterize trace gases in the Martian atmosphere and gain a better understanding of methane and other atmospheric gases that could be evidence of biological or geological activity on the pant service.

Set to launch in 2020, the ExoMars rover will search the red planet for signs of biosignatures from past life preserved within the subsurface, using a 2m drill.

Prior to the launch of ExoMars, InSight, a NASA mission set to launch next year, will investigate the interior structure and processes of Mars by placing a single geophysical lander on Mars to study its deep interior. The hope is that the data collected from this missing will help scientists to understand the formation and evolution of terrestrial planets and determine the present level of tectonic activity - the movement of the planets surface plates - and meteorite impact rate on Mars.

The Aurora Science scheme is an opportunity to enhance the UK's capabilities in planetary exploration science and is open to academics and individual scientists from the UK or overseas, working at UK Research Organisations.

Those who take part will be offered proposals to fund fellowships, post doctorate research assistants, studentship, and to support academics to participate in international science teams to exploit data from future missions such as the NSAS InSight mission.

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