On the 7th of February, this year, a rover that will land on Mars, was named after historic scientist Rosalind Franklin. The rover is an a unmanned ship that will look deeper into life on Mars. The European Space Agency (ESA) has named it after her for the fascinating research that she did on the human body.
Rosalind Franklin was born on the 25th of July, 1920, in Notting Hill, in London. From a young age, she knew she wanted to be a scientist. Her father discouraged the idea as in that time, it wasn't acceptable for a woman to have that type of career. She was extremely intelligent and went to study at St Paul's Girls school and the University of Cambridge (where she earned a Ph.D in physical chemistry). Her research and the work of James Watson and Francis Crick, led to the discovery of the DNA double helix. Because of this, she has become extremely famous, therefore having a rover named after her in her honour.
The Exomars will be an incredible rover which will be searching for any signs, or hope, of life on Mars. The Rosalind Franklin will be different to any other rover before as it will be able to combine the capability to roam around the red planet as well as study beneath the surface. Hopefully it will find a droplet of water or some bacteria that will show that we are able to survive on Mars. British engineers are hoping to have the finished rover ready by July.
This is an amazing breakthrough with both engineering and science.