European Mars rover launch ‘unlikely' this year due to Ukraine conflict

The joint project with Russia is expected to be hit by sanctions
The European Space Agency believes the launch of its Mars mission developed together with Russia's Roscosmos, which was scheduled for this year, will have to be postponed, it said on Monday. The mission will likely be put on pause due to anti-Russian sanctions imposed by the EU in retaliation for attacking Ukraine.
“The sanctions and the wider context make a launch in 2022 very unlikely” for the Rosalind Franklin rover, the statement said. ESA's Director General will “analyze all the options and prepare a formal decision on the way forward by ESA Member States.”
The mission is part of the international ExoMars program and involves a Russian launch vehicle and lander and a European carrier and lander. Its primary objective is to look for evidence of life presence on Mars in the past, hence the rover was named after Franklin, a British chemist whose work was essential tp the discovery of DNA molecules. The Trace Gas Orbiter - launched in...

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