Two Days and a Half – How ESA Brought a Lost Mars Mission Back to Life

The Episode

In March 2022, Europe’s ExoMars Rosalind Franklin mission was only weeks from launch when it was suddenly grounded.
Russia’s invasion of Ukraine ended years of cooperation, and left one of ESA’s most ambitious Mars projects without a ride, without partners, and without a plan.

From inside ESA’s Mission Control in Darmstadt, Sara Melloni watched everything freeze. As Mission Operations Manager for Rosalind Franklin, she now leads the team bringing Europe’s Mars dream back to life, one simulation, one re-wiring, one sleepless night at a time.

This is not just the story of a spacecraft.
 It’s the story of how science survives politics, and how belief can resurrect a mission thought lost.

Cosmic Timeline (Timestamps)

• [00:00:00] Opening – Markus recalls seeing the ExoMars rover and hearing its dramatic backstory
• [00:01:45] Sara Melloni on writing a new chapter for Rosalind Franklin
• [00:04:30] How the original 2018 mission fell apart and what ESA learned
• [00:08:20] When geopolitics stops science – the shock after the 2022 suspension
• [00:12:50] “Two days and a half” – the tightest window in mission control
• [00:17:40] Inside ESOC – training, simulation, and the psychology of mission control
• [00:23:15] How engineers dismantled, re-tested, and rebuilt a “frozen” mission
• [00:29:10] The rover’s drill: reaching two meters down for traces of ancient life
• [00:36:00] ESA’s global collaborations and the rebirth of European Mars exploration
• [00:43:50] From crisis to creativity – what the ExoMars team taught ESA about adaptation
• [00:49:00] Sara’s reflection on curiosity, machines, and the human mind
• [00:54:20] Closing – why bringing Rosalind Franklin back matters for the future of Europe in space

Memorable Moments

• “We were ready to go, every checklist ticked,  and then the war started.”
• “Our Russian colleagues lost access to their bank accounts overnight. We all just froze.”
• “Two days and a half. That’s all the time the landing platform will live before handing control to the rover.”
• “If we stop using our brain, it will atrophy, machines can help us, but not replace our curiosity.”
• “It’s a mission in limbo, but we’re bringing it back to life.”

Links to Explore

• ESA ExoMars Mission Overview
  
  
• Rosalind Franklin Rover Testing at ESA
  
  
• ESA Science Goals and Mission Phases

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