The ongoing crisis between Ukraine and Russia seems to affect cooperation in the space field. The Director General of the European Space Agency (ESA) made statements about some sanctions that could be made against Russia.
Russia, which has been implementing different sanctions from economy to energy since the past day, will not be removed from space studies for now. According to the ESA’s statement, there is no sanction against the Russian Space Agency Roscosmos.
ESA: We will continue to work with Russia in space
ESA Director-General Josef Aschbacher said in a statement that after Russia’s invasion of Ukraine, they will work with Russia for the International Space Station and ExoMars programs, but they will also fight the war. He said they would follow up closely.
“Despite the current conflict, space cooperation remains a bridge between countries. ESA will continue to work on all programs, including the ISS and ExoMars program, to meet its commitments with member states and other partners. We continue to monitor the developing situation.”
ExoMars 2022, which includes the European-made Rosalind Franklin rover and the Roscosmos-made lander, is scheduled to be launched with the Proton-M rocket in September. But any weather or crisis-related delay means the next opportunity will come in 26 months.
ESA; It is involved in the ten-year ISS program with its partners Russia, the United States and other countries. There are currently 7 people on the ISS: Russian cosmonauts Pyotr Dubrov and Anton Shkaplerov, German astronaut Matthias Maurer with NASA astronauts Mark Vande Hei, Kayla Barron, Thomas Marshburn and Raja Chari.
By the way, Russia’s Soyuz rocket, Europe Guyana Space It was planned to launch the Galileo GNSS satellite from its center. The launch is set for the second quarter of 2022 and operations are continuing as normal.
But events in Ukraine are likely to have implications for European space cooperation with Russia. Bleddyn Bowen, lecturer in Space Policy at the University of Leicester, said:
“Great cooperation projects with Russia in space will be a thing of the past unless European countries decide they don’t mind Russia dismantling the Ukrainian army, dismissing the government and establishing a vassal regime. looks like.”
Additionally, Russia is not a partner in NASA’s new Lunar Gateway program and this is thought to pose some problems for the USA, Europe, Japan and Canada. China and Russia planned to develop an International Lunar Research Station for the 2030s. These two countries, ESA and some other states could potentially be valuable partners, he said.
What do you think about ESA’s continuation of space studies with Russia? You can share your views with us in the comments section and on the SDN Forum.
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