Stevenage: Airbus space rover may help in search for life on Mars

The prototypes, named Codi and Charlie, are being tested by aerospace giant Airbus in hope that some of the technology could also be used to aid missions to the moon and Mars.

Airbus space rovers Codi (left) and Charlie (right) are being tested in a Bedfordshire quarry to replicate the surface of Mars. (Image: Joe Giddens/PA)

Codi, a four-wheeled rover, features navigation cameras and a robotic arm that it can use to collect rocks sealed in small tubes – without the need of a human operator.

Meanwhile, the six-wheeled Charlie, can climb over and navigate obstacles twice the diameter of the wheel without getting stuck or falling on its side.

Chris Draper, rover programme manager at Airbus, said: “The thing we are excited at the most at the moment is the moon.

“The moon is a stepping stone to Mars so there is obviously a lot of interest in going back to the moon and you can envisage rovers being part of the lunar ecosystem."

Codi is able to drive to and retrieve samples with an accuracy of around 10cm while Charlie is testing a new navigation system developed for the European Space Agency's flagship Mars mission - the ExoMars Rosalind Franklin rover, which is expected to launch in 2028.

Charlie is also trialling a sensor known as LiDAR, which can allow rovers to move in the dark without using cameras.

Draper added: “Rovers can really support transporting things around at the base and support astronauts in their day-to-day activities.

"Once we can prove we can do that on the moon, we will want to do the same on Mars.”

He also predicted there is “a fair chance” that future missions may be able to find evidence of past existence of life on Mars.

Although it remains to be seen if these rovers will make it to the moon or Mars, the ESA said the work is “very meaningful” for future missions.