Europe Cancels Mars Mission with Russia

The headquarters of the European Space Agency in Paris, France, which unanimously voted to cancel its upcoming ExoMars mission with Russia as part of sanctions against Russia’s invasion of Ukraine. (Source: Wikimedia Commons)

The member states of the European Space Agency (ESA) on March 17 unanimously voted to suspend a $1.10 million ExoMars mission with Russia, according to The Guardian. This joint project was due to launch a robotic rover in September, but was canceled because of Russia’s invasion of Ukraine.

Per the ESA website, ExoMars began as a project to answer the question of whether or not life has ever existed on Mars. Space.com reports that the mission was originally developed between the ESA and National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA). However, due to budget cuts under the Obama administration, the project faced cancellation. As a result, Russian space agency Roscosmos stepped in and revived the program. 

ExoMars comprises two missions: the first mission, the Trace Gas Orbiter, was launched in 2016 to study the planet’s atmosphere, while the second mission, consisting of a rover and surface platform, was intended to drill two meters into the planet’s surface to look for signs of life. The Guardian reported that the rover, named Rosalind Franklin, was assembled in the United Kingdom and expected to launch onboard a Russian heavy-lift Proton rocket. It would have traveled to Mars on a German spacecraft and been guided to the surface by a Russian landing platform. Now, the rover will be kept in storage for the foreseeable future.

In a statement recorded by SpaceNews, the ESA expressed, “We deeply deplore the human casualties and tragic consequences of the aggression towards Ukraine.” It continues, “While recognizing the impact on scientific exploration of space, ESA is fully aligned with the sanctions imposed on Russia by its Member States.”

To align with the European Union’s (EU) sanctions on Russia, the ESA canceled its launch date. Reported by SpaceNews, ESA Director-General Josef Aschbacher said at a March 17 briefing that “[the] decision was made that this launch cannot happen given the current circumstances. This makes it practically impossible but also politically impossible to have a launch in September.”

This decision, though inevitable, represents a significant setback to Europe’s space program, as noted by The Guardian. Although the rover should remain viable for several years in storage, keeping the mission alive will significantly increase the $1.10 million price tag.

Although the launch will no longer occur in September, it is possible it will occur again in the future. Per BBC, there are at least two paths forward: the ESA could wait until the current political and economic tensions with Russia subside and restart the program, or it could look for other partners, such as the United States, to provide the technology it needs. The American Institute of Physics (AIP) reportsthat the ESA has indeed initiated a three-month industrial study to identify other options to send the Rosalind Franklin rover to Mars.