ESA has completed sterilisation of the ExoMars parachute that will slow the Rosalind Franklin rover's descent for a safe touchdown on the Red Planet.
Sterilisation is therefore necessary to ensure there is no risk of a false positive caused by an Earth-borne microbe resilient enough to survive the journey to the Martian surface.
The European Space Agency (ESA) has completed a more than 79-hour sterilisation of the parachute that will slow the descent of its Rosalind Franklin rover for a gentle touchdown on the surface of Mars.
