The European Space Agency (ESA) has decided to formally suspend the joint Euro-Russian Exomars mission to Mars scheduled for this summer.
The ESA Council, meeting in Paris on 16-17 March, assessed the situation in Europe-Russia relations due to Ukraine and stated that “as an intergovernmental body with a mandate to develop and implement space programs “We deeply regret the loss of life and the tragic consequences of the aggression against Ukraine.”
The ESA, which was founded in 1975 and has 22 member states (including Greece), says it is “fully in line with the sanctions imposed on Russia by its member states.” It unanimously decided that it is impossible to continue cooperation with the Russian space agency Roscosmos to send the European rover “Rosalind Franklin” to Mars with the help of Russia as part of the joint ExoMars mission, which was to take place in 2022.
At the same time, the Director General of ESA was instructed to conduct a rapid investigation to consider the best possible alternatives in order to proceed with the mission of the rover.
Also, following Roscosmos’ decision to withdraw its crew from the European space station in French Guiana and to stop the supply of Russian Soyuz rockets for launches from there, ESA will look for launch alternatives to scheduled space missions that are affected. Galileo M1, Euclid and EarthCare).
On the other hand, ESA assured that the cooperation with Russia in the International Space Station continues for reasons of security of its operations and those of the astronauts.
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