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[Guest_paulanderson_*]

http://www.esa.int/esaCP/SEMA96ULWFE_index_0.html

Relating to Mars Express:

"At the same time, ESA’s Mars Express mission is continuing its investigations of Mars, painting a new picture of the 'red planet'. This includes the first ever probing below the surface of Mars, new geological clues with implications for the climate, newly-discovered surface and atmospheric features and, above all, traces of the presence of water on this world."

[RNeuhaus]

The above 4 mentioned sites of interest for ExoMars since they have high probability to find phillosilicate. All of those terrain are rough, covered with stones like the Viking 1 and 2 sites. On the other hand, David Parker, David Parker, director of space science at the British National Space Centre, said the mission would build on the heritage of Beagle 2.

"Imagine a spacecraft landing on Mars using parachutes and airbags, maybe a rocket system of some sort," he told the BBC News website.

Hope it won't be a repeated mistake. No airbag on these rough sites unless use only rockets and an advanced surface radar and navigation autonomy system to steer the wrong landing place for one better surface to land like the ones of the american landing mode with Skycrane . If MSL success its landing, hope that ESA will follow it.

Rodolfo