ESA says its Mars mission has 'reborn' after cutting Russian ties; looks for new partners

The European Space Agency (ESA), on Monday, revealed that its Rosalind Franklin Mars rover is confirmed to be technically ready for launch. It further informed that the agency will now carry out a fast-track study to determine options for executing the ExoMars mission without Russia's help. Last week, ESA had revealed that it is suspending the collaborative ExoMars mission with Russia's space agency Roscosmos over Moscow's invasion of Ukraine on February 24. What's more, is that an ESA engineer said that cutting ties with Russia is a 'rebirth of the mission.' However, this does not mean that the mission will be conducted at its targeted time of September 2022. 

"I hope that our Member States will decide that this is not the end of ExoMars, but rather a rebirth of the mission, perhaps serving as a trigger to develop more European autonomy,” says David Parker, Director of Human and Robotic Exploration at ESA. Despite suspending Russia from the mission targeted for September this year, the agency revealed that the mission’s System Qualification and Flight Acceptance Review took place as planned. Moreover, ESA's Review Board confirmed that the spacecraft would have been ready for the timely shipment to the launch site and the programme had a sufficient time margin for the original launch opportunity which was September 20. 

ESA looks for new collaborators

Since the possibility of using Russia's help through its Proton-M rocket is out of the window, the European agency is looking for new partners for the mission. Besides, it noted that the rover's launch to Mars would be conducted at the earliest, however, that would depend on factors such as the quick development of technologies to support the mission and the availability of compatible launchers and launch site.

"We count on brilliant teams and expertise across Europe and with international partners to reshape and rebuild the mission. The team is dedicated and focused on setting out the next steps to ensure we bring this incredible rover to Mars to complete the job it was designed for", the agency said in its statement. The ExoMars mission was supposed to deliver a European-made rover along with a Russian-made lander to Mars, a project which has been halted from both sides. 

Image: ESA