Russia’s attack on Ukraine means we are probably not going to Mars, European Space Agency says

(Independent)

The ongoing war in Europe means we are probably not going to Mars this year, the European Space Agency has said.

Over the last week, space agencies including Nasa and ESA have stressed that co-operation will continue with their Russian counterpart, Roscosmos, with which they work on projects including the International Space Station.

But the continuing violence has led ESA to begin to make changes to its plans for space exploration and travel, its director general Josef Aschbacher said in a tweet. “We deplore the tragic events taking place in Ukraine, a crisis which escalated dramatically into war in recent days,” he wrote.

He did not give any indication of the space agency’s more general plans, and noted that its decisions must be taken in collaboration with the countries that contribute to ESA, as well as in the context of any sanctions those member states decide to put in force.

But a statement from the space agency made clear that it is unlikely that the ExoMars mission that will see a European lander carried to the red planet on board a Russian spacecraft is no longer likely to happen.

“Regarding the ExoMars programme continuation, the sanctions and the wider context make a launch in 2022 very unlikely,” ESA said.

The arrival of the lander – named Rosalind Franklin – had been scheduled for 2020, but was delayed in part because of delays related to the coronavirus.

Mars missions are only able to launch every two years or so because they require the planets to be lined up in such a way as to make the journey efficient. As such, any launch would have to wait until 2024 or later.