The ruling council of the European Space Agency (ESA) has recognized the impossibility of continuing its cooperation with the Russian space agency, Roscosmos.
As the fighting escalates between Ukraine and Russia and international tensions rise, the European Space Agency has announced the cancellation of the ExoMars mission - its great project to set down on Martian soil which had, until now, been carried out in collaboration with the Russian space agency (Roscosmos).
Putting a stop to ExoMars and switching launch vehicles have, for now, been the first official measures announced by the European Space Agency in response to the escalating conflict with Russia.
In addition, the organization has tasked ESA Director General Josef Aschbacher with taking the necessary steps to suspend the cooperation activities related to this project and has authorized him to perform an accelerated industry study to better determine the options available to successfully launch the ExoMars rover.
As a result, Aschbacher has started an assessment of potential alternative launch services for these missions, which will include a review of the first exploitation flights of Ariane 6. According to the press release, member states will be presented with a final manifest of ESA mission launch requirements, including the spacecrafts that were originally expected to launch on Soyuz from Kourou (French Guiana).
The ESA reminded that it is an inter-governmental organization governed by its 22 member states and that it has built a solid network for international cooperation during the last few decades “that serves the European and global space community through its successful programs.” “We are applying the sanctions imposed on Russia by our member states,” ESA sources stated.
