ESA - Robotic Exploration of Mars - ExoMars Drill breadboard on Rover vehicle

This photograph, which shows the Drill breadboard mounted on the ExoMars Rover vehicle breadboard, was taken during a series of tests that were performed at the premises of Thales Alenia Space (TAS-I) in March 2010. The purpose of these tests was to verify the performance of the Drill when installed on the Rover vehicle.

The tests included multiple drilling in 2-metre-deep columns of materials. The red brick in the centre of the container simulates a medium-hardness rock and was one of several different materials with different mineralogical characteristics that have been selected as reference materials and used to evaluate and characterise the performance of the system. The reference materials included: gas-concrete, red brick, tuff, marble, olivine powder (to simulate regolith), and fine sand.