Updated

Updated · BBC.com · Jul 5

ESA's Claire Parfitt Leads Mars Mission Planning at 42 as Rosalind Franklin Targets 2028 Launch

Updated

Updated · BBC.com · Jul 5

ESA's Claire Parfitt Leads Mars Mission Planning at 42 as Rosalind Franklin Targets 2028 Launch

2 articles · Updated · BBC.com · Jul 5

Claire Parfitt, 42, now leads ESA teams planning future human and robotic Mars exploration from the agency's technology center in the Netherlands.
Her role includes preparing the next decades of Mars work for Europe, with Parfitt saying missions must preserve the planet while returning the best possible science data.
Rosalind Franklin, the ExoMars rover she previously worked on, is due to launch in 2028, making it a key near-term step in Europe's Mars program.
Parfitt also chairs the International Mars Exploration Working Group and moved to ESA in 2019 after earlier work in the UK space industry.
At 14, she began with work experience at Leicester's National Space Centre—helping unpack and clean a space toilet—an early experience she credits with setting her on a space career.

Sources

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