The Swiss engineering company Scheurer Swiss GmbH is working with partner Ruag Space to develop the part.
RUAG Space (Decatur, Alabama; Bern, Switzerland) and the Swiss engineering company Scheurer Swiss GmbH (Volketswil, Switzerland) to build the ExoMars detector.
The carbon fiber composite chassis of the rover was developed by the European Space Agency (ESA, Volketswil; Paris, France) under the guidance of RUAG Space and Airbus Defence and Space (Ottobrunn, Germany). Dominik Scheurer, CEO of Schentir Swiss GmbH, stated that the division will be involved in chassis development and selection of laser systems for lamination.
The probe, named after British scientist Rosalind Franklin, is expected to launch to Mars in 2020. The finished suspension of the chassis is currently being tested at the RUAG space test center in Zurich.
In addition, a new Exomars detector control center, the Roamer Operational Control Center (RoCC), was built in Turin, Italy. Once the rover has landed on the surface of Mars, it will become the center of operations for testing and activity.
"This is a vital place on Earth, we will hear the rover's instrument, see what she sees, and issue orders to look for evidence of life above and below the surface," said ESA Director Jan Wörner. "The ExoMars Mars rover will be the first Mars probe to cross the surface of Mars at the same time and carry out in-depth research, capable of collecting samples from 2 meters underground."
In July 2020, a proton rocket will send the spacecraft on an eight-month trip to Mars.