Faced with the sanctions of Western countries with the invasion of Ukraine, Russia is now left alone in the space race. It was stated that the ExoMars mission, launched in 2016 in partnership with the European Space Agency (ESA) and Russia, has been completely canceled.
Russia and ESA joint mission ExoMars canceled
The Mars exploration mission, which was suspended in March, has been completely canceled, according to the latest statement from ESA. ExoMars, which includes two different missions targeting the years 2016 and 2022, was completely shelved with the statement of the ESA Director General. According to the ESA’s 2016 briefing, $1.3 billion was allocated for the mission.
As part of the ExoMars rover mission, Russia’s space agency Roscosmos and the European Space Agency wanted to search for signs of life on Mars. This partnership, which will be Europe’s first planetary scanning mission, has become unsustainable as a result of the war in Ukraine.
In the information letter shared by ESA Director General Josef Aschbacher, it was stated that a partnership with NASA could be established. Saying that Roscosmos trusts the Soyuz rockets, the ESA Director said that he had to forcibly cancel the Mars exploration.
The ExoMars rover vehicle, which was planned to be launched in July 2020, was delayed to 2022 due to the pandemic. But the mission was suspended in March following the Ukraine crisis and has now been canceled entirely.
“It’s really unfortunate for engineers who have been working to explore Mars for 40 years, but we have nothing left to do,” Aschbacher told CNN.
The project, developed in partnership with Russia and ESA, aimed to drill holes up to 2 meters on the surface of Mars and collect samples. According to NASA’s estimations, if the mission had begun, several kilometers would have to be traveled from the surface of Mars each day.
What do you think about the ExoMars cancellation? Do you think it would be better for Europe to work with NASA? Don’t forget to share your views with us in the comments!
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