The HABIT (HabitAbility, Brine Irradiation and Temperature) instrument, developed by the team at the Department of Planetary Sciences at the University of Aberdeen, may become the first Scottish and UK instrument to operate on the surface of Mars. Initially designed for the ExoMars Surface Platform, HABIT has now been allocated to the first Japanese mission to Mars following the suspension of the ExoMars mission.

This presentation will be provided by Javier Martin-Torres, a theoretical physicist with 15 years in radiative transfer and atmospheric research. Javier is the Principal Investigator on the HABIT mission. His international career spans Oxford, NASA, JPL, and more, specialising in planetary research and instrumentation.

HABIT is composed of two primary modules:

- EnvPack, which assesses Mars' present-day habitability by measuring the availability of liquid water, thermal ranges, and ultraviolet radiation;
- BOTTLE (Brine Observation Transition To Liquid Experiment), an In-Situ Resource Utilization tool capable of producing liquid water for future Mars exploration. BOTTLE also examines the atmospheric-ground water cycle, investigating the potential existence of liquid water in the form of brines and determining how long it can remain stable under Martian conditions.

The instrument plays a vital role in the ongoing quest to explore the habitability of present-day Mars, a critical factor for future human missions. The availability of liquid water, demonstrated to exist on Mars in the form of brines, is key to determining habitability. HABIT will monitor ultraviolet radiation, temperature, and liquid water availability at the Oxia Planum landing site, originally selected for ExoMars. It will also explore the potential for extracting atmospheric water, offering insights into resource utilization for sustainable human exploration of Mars.