RussiaUkraine’s war is likely to delay Rosalind Franklin’s upcoming mission Marsaccording to the European Space Agency (ESA).
In a statement issued Monday, ESA said it had “fully complied with sanctions” imposed on Russia by its 22 member states over the armed conflict.
According to ESA, the ambitious UK-built rover Rosalind Franklin is now “very unlikely” to launch in 2022.
Part of the ExoMars mission, the rover is a joint project of ESA and the Russian space agency Roscosmos.
It was to explode in space this September from southern Kazakhstan and was to land on Mars in June 2023.
The rover Rosalind Franklin (pictured here on Mars) was about to take off for the Red Planet in September 2022, but this year’s launch is now “very unlikely”
Rosalind Franklin is a planned robotic rover, part of the international program ExoMars, led by the European Space Agency and Russia’s Roscosmos. Pictured is Rosalind’s twin on Earth, known as Amalia, who successfully left the platform in a field simulator on Mars
Russia designed the Cossack lander, which was to deploy rosary Rosalind Franklin.
ECA MEMBER STATES
The European Space Agency (ESA) has 22 Member States:
– Austria
– Belgium
– Czech Republic
– Denmark
– Estonia
– Finland
– France
– Germany
– Greece
– Hungary
– Ireland
– Italy
– Luxembourg
– The Netherlands
– Norway
– Poland
– Portugal
– Romania
– Spain
– Sweden
– Switzerland
– United Kingdom
Note: Latvia, Lithuania and Slovenia are associate members, while Canada participates in certain programs under a cooperation agreement.
IN statement Published on its website, ESA said it was “assessing the consequences of each of our current programs” in cooperation with Roscosmos, while condemning Russia’s actions.
We deplore the human casualties and tragic consequences of the war in Ukraine, ESA said.
“We give absolute priority to making the right decisions, not only on behalf of our workforce participating in the programs, but with full respect for our European values, which have always fundamentally shaped our approach to international cooperation.
“With regard to the continuation of the ExoMars program, sanctions and the wider context make the launch in 2022 very unlikely.”
In response to the decision, Dmitry Rogozin, director general of Russia’s Roscosmos space agency, published in his native language to Twitter: “The European Space Agency, in defiance of the Russian grandmother, decided to freeze her ears.”
In a statement from ESA, the space agency also said it had taken note of Roscosmos’ decision to withdraw its Soyuz workforce from the European spaceport in Kourou, South America.
Russia’s decision to do so, announced by Rogozin on Saturday, is due to sanctions imposed by Europe.
The future of the International Space Station (ISS), which has been backed by five participating space agencies – including ESA, Roscosmos and NASA – since its inception, has also been called into question.
Pictured is Dmitry Rogozin, director general of Russia’s Roscosmos space agency. In response to ESA’s decision, Rogozin tweeted: “The European Space Agency, in defiance of the Russian grandmother, has decided to freeze her ears.”
The International Space Station (ISS, pictured), which is 357.5 feet wide and 239.4 feet long, completes an entire orbit around the Earth once every 90 minutes
War in Ukraine: the latest
- Ukraine’s defense ministry says Russia has lost 5,300 troops, 29 planes, 29 helicopters and 151 tanks
- Russia’s Defense Ministry admitted for the first time that it had suffered losses, but declined to say how much
- Russia’s economy falls into free fall as Western sanctions imposed over the weekend take effect, with the ruble falling to its lowest level ever
- Moscow’s central bank has more than doubled interest rates to 20 percent
- Russia orders people and companies to sell 80% of their income in foreign currency, forcing them to buy the ruble to help maintain it
- The Moscow Stock Exchange will not open at least 15:00 in an attempt to prevent a total collapse
- Zelensky allows Ukrainian prisoners to be released if they join the defense forces to “pay off their debt”
- The President of Ukraine also announced the creation of an “international brigade” for foreign volunteers wishing to join the military, after “thousands” applied
- Spanish foreign minister calls Putin’s order to bring nuclear forces on high alert “another sign [his] absolute irrationality “
- Former Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe says his country should be open to deploying nuclear weapons
- Germany announces $ 112 million fund to rebuild the country’s armed forces, more than double its current self-defense budget
- EU announces for the first time in its history that it will send funds to Ukraine for weapons – including fighter jets
Currently, seven astronauts – four from the United States, two from Russia and one from Germany – are on the ISS.
Rogozin said US sanctions could “destroy our cooperation” and said the research platform would fall to Earth without the help of his nation.
“If you block cooperation with us, who will save the ISS from uncontrolled descents and falls on US or European territory?” Rogozin said, noting that the station does not fly over much of Russia.
However, a space expert said this was unlikely, given that Roscosmos has Russian personnel on board.
“No one wants to endanger the lives of astronauts and astronauts through political maneuvers,” John Logsden, a professor and space analyst at George Washington University, told AFP.
Regarding the rover Rosalind Franklin, ESA also said that its CEO “will analyze all options and prepare a formal solution for the way forward.”
ExoMars – a joint program of ESA and Roscosmos – actually consists of two missions, one of which is still pending.
The first, Trace Gas Orbiter, or TGO, arrived on Mars in 2016 and began its full scientific mission in 2018.
The TGO was accompanied by the failed Schiaparelli lander, which crashed on the Martian surface due to the premature release of the parachute and is now no more than crispy black spot surrounded by rusty red sand.
ExoMars’ second mission includes a UK-built rover called Rosalind Franklin and the Cossack ground platform.
Named after the London-born scientist and co-discoverer of DNA structure, Rosalind Franklin was due to explode in space in September 2022 from South Kazakhstan.
Built by Airbus Defense and Space, at the company’s facility in the United Kingdom in Stevenage, Hertfordshire, the rover is able to penetrate 6.5 feet (2 meters) below the surface, collecting samples from regions not affected by radiation.
The rover is the first to pay tribute to a female scientist on its flagship discovery ship.
It is only possible to make the shorter, nine-month trip to Mars every two years, which is why the rover could not start last year.
TGO (pictured here as an artist) arrived on Mars in 2016 and began its full scientific mission in 2018.
In January, the UK Space Agency confirmed Rosalind Franklin had passed the final round of tests and was about to take off for the Red Planet in September.
Understanding the history of Mars ‘water and whether it has ever allowed life to flourish is at the heart of ExoMars’ ESA missions.
“The rosary named after Rosalind Franklin will drill up to two meters into the surface to take samples from the soil, analyze its composition and look for evidence of past – and perhaps even present – life buried underground,” says ESA. .
EUROPE AND RUSSIA WORK TOGETHER ON EXOMARS MISSION TO SEEK SIGNS OF MARSAN LIFE
The main goal of ExoMars is to find out if life has ever existed on Mars – it will do so through a series of instruments on the surface and in orbit.
This includes an orbital spacecraft called the Trace Gas ORbiter (TGO), which carries a probe to study traces of gases such as methane around the planet.
Scientists believe that methane, a chemical that is highly linked to life on Earth, could help identify areas where life exists or may have existed.
The second part of the ExoMars mission, postponed to 2022/2023 due to a coronavirus, will deliver a rover to the surface of Mars.
The rover is being built in Stevenage, UK and is named after British scientist Rosalind Franklin.
It will be the first to be able to move on the planet’s surface as well as drill into the ground to collect and analyze samples.
The rover will include a technology called Mars Organic Molecule Analyzer (MOMA), which will allow it to analyze samples and send data back to Earth.