Due to the sanctions against Russia for its invasion of Ukraine, the European Space Agency ( ESA ) will spare the Russians for their arrival on Mars.
They were providing the landing pad for the rover and the rocket launcher.
The European Space Agency ( ESA ) formally halted plans to launch its ExoMars mission on a Russian rocket in September in response to the Russian invasion of Ukraine.
The ESA Council , at the conclusion of its last meeting on March 17, voted unanimously to suspend cooperation with Russia on the ExoMars mission , citing “the current impossibility of carrying out ongoing cooperation with Roscosmos ,” according to a statement. of the ESA .
“We deeply deplore the human casualties and the tragic consequences of the aggression against Ukraine,” ESA said in the statement. “While acknowledging the impact on the scientific exploration of space, ESA is fully aligned with the sanctions imposed on Russia by its Member States .”
“The decision has been made that this launch cannot happen given the current circumstances,” ESA Director General Josef Aschbacher said at a briefing on March 17, citing sanctions imposed by European nations on Russia . “This makes it virtually impossible, but also politically impossible, to have a September launch.”
political tensions
The announcement was almost inevitable after ESA announced on February 28 that it was “highly unlikely” to go ahead with the late-September launch from the Baikonur Cosmodrome in Kazakhstan due to sanctions imposed on Russia in response to the Russian invasion of Ukraine.
“It’s a disappointment for the people involved in the project,” said David Parker, ESA ‘s head of human and robotics exploration , pointing to the years they spent on the mission. “It was an agonizing decision for the council.”
A new plan for ExoMars would involve more than replacing the Proton rocket. Russia also built a landing platform called Kazachok that would have to be replaced. The rover itself includes Russian instruments and Russian-supplied radioisotope heating units.
The council instructed Aschbacher to start a “fast-track industrial study” to look at alternatives for launching the mission, which will place the European-made Rosalind Franklin rover on Mars . “What we really need to do is look at these options,” she said. “The options in terms of Europe alone or Europe with other partners.”
One option, Aschbacher said, was to renew the cooperation with NASA . ESA originally planned to cooperate with NASA on the ExoMars program , but turned to Russia a decade ago when NASA pulled out of the program . “Cooperation with NASA is an option that we will study,” she said. ” NASA has expressed its great willingness to support us.”
If the relationship with Roscosmos were restored , Parker said, a 2024 might be feasible. “A more radical reconfiguration would lead to launch in 2026, when there are two launch opportunities, or 2028.”
“It won’t be before 2026, realistically,” Aschbacher said of the revised launch date. “Even that is very challenging.”
