A planned European Mars mission is canceled due to the Russian invasion of Ukraine. The European Space Agency reports that THIS† After the first Mars mission in 2016, the agency had planned to set up the second part of the ExoMars program this year with the Russian space agency Roskosmos. But according to ESA, that is no longer possible, both practically and politically.
This year, the Mars rover Rosalind Franklin to land on Mars. The rover would then have to travel a few miles across the Martian surface, looking for signs of life. It is not clear when the mission will continue.
At the end of last month, the ESA already discussed the postponement of the launch and now it is final. The director of the European Space Agency is looking for other organizations to collaborate on the project.
Dumped to the ground
The first part of the ExoMars program was conducted in 2016. A communications satellite was placed in orbit around Mars. That part of the mission was accomplished.
At the same time as the satellite, the landing module Schiaparelli launched. He was supposed to look for signs of life on the red planet, but that didn’t go as planned.
When the landing module’s parachute had to open, at an altitude of 11 kilometers from the Martian surface, contact with Earth was broken. ESA announced that the parachute malfunctioned causing the Schiaparelli probably fell to pieces.
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