A TDE activity, with ARIANEGROUP (FR), CFS Engineering (CH) and AIRBUS DS (GB), designed a feasible concept for a piggy-back design for a penetrator on a scientific mission to Mars.
There have been several attempts to deploy a penetrator system into the surface of a planetary body to investigate its surface and interior. Although none of these missions have been successfully completed, the development of a penetrator in a piggy-back context remains an attractive option for future exploration missions.
The Mars Penetrator would be used for conducting astrobiology experiments, with complementary measurements on the seismic activity.