ESA has released footage of a deployment test for the landing legs of its ExoMars mission, published on 6 August 2026. The test used a full-scale model of the landing platform at Thales Alenia facilities in Turin, Italy. The four legs replicate the structure and dimensions of those that will fly to Mars.

In the test, two landing legs deploy simultaneously, in two sequential pairs. The legs travel stowed on the spacecraft through deep space and deploy automatically in pairs in less than a second using non-explosive actuators, just after the front shield is jettisoned. ESA describes the deployment as a crucial step in preparing the landing module for touchdown.

The legs are part of the gear needed for a safe landing of ESA's ExoMars Rosalind Franklin rover mission in 2030, alongside parachutes and engines that will slow the spacecraft's descent onto Mars. Thales Alenia Space is the industrial lead of the mission, Airbus provides the landing platform, and teams from the Spanish company Sener designed and built the landing legs.