Is there life on Mars?(10)

When Rosalind Franklin eventually does arrive on Mars (which will be in 2023, if this timetable is adhered to), the craft will crawl over an area called Oxia Planum. This has clays that date back around 4bn years, which will make it the oldest site yet explored on Mars. Since clay minerals require water to form, there are high hopes that Oxia Planum may once have been a life-friendly region.
Rosalind Franklin’s scientific payload will be capable of much more sophisticated analyses than Perseverance’s. In particular, the Mars Organic Molecule Analyser (MOMA) will be able to extract organic molecules from rocks and regolith more effectively than before.