Russia’s ‘unprovoked’ invasion of Ukraine has taken the world by surprise. Western countries put economic sanctions on Russia, thereby isolating the country diplomatically.
Several delays are happening in aviation, sea, and land routes in eastern Europe. Therefore, the invasion has had an impact on land, water, and air. But now the upheaval has touched a space program. ()
Due to sanctions on Moscow, a Russian-European cooperative project to place a rover on Mars is in a tight spot. The Exo-Mars mission is “very unlikely” to start this year.
The Rosalind Franklin rover was initially going to launch in 2020. Its purpose is to drill into Martian soil in search of indications of life. But it also stopped mid-way owing to coronavirus (COVID-19) and technical problems, according to the European Space Agency.
However, the European Space Agency (ESA) said in January that the ExoMars mission would launch in September. But for that, Russia agreed to provide the launcher, descent module, and landing platform.
Mars mission Launch in 2022: very unlikely
The European Union has now slapped severe penalties on Russia in response to the invasion. The ESA has stated that “the sanctions and the wider context make a launch in 2022 very unlikely.”
“We are fully implementing sanctions imposed on Russia by our member states,” the ESA said on February 28.
The ESA also stated that it was aware of Roscosmos’ decision over the weekend to halt launches and remove its employees from Europe’s spaceport in Kourou, French Guiana, due to EU sanctions.
“We deplore the human casualties and tragic consequences of the war in Ukraine,” it added.
“Regarding the Soyuz launch campaign from Europe’s Spaceport in Kourou, we take note of the Roscosmos decision to withdraw its workforce from Kourou,” the statement added.
According to the space agency, they would “consequently assess for each European institutional payload under our responsibility the appropriate launch service-based notably on launch systems currently in operation and the upcoming Vega-C and Ariane 6 launchers.”
