The consequences of big political shifts on Earth have reached as far as Mars
The Rosalind Franklin rover – the latest ESA (European Space Agency) Mars mission that was scheduled for launch this September – has been suspended as part of ESA’s move to cut ties with Roscosmos, the Russian space agency. The move comes in response to the war in Ukraine.
The rover was meant to use its 2m drill to probe deeper beneath the Red Planet’s surface than any previous mission, hoping to find signs of past life. Roscosmos is supplying several key components of the mission, most notably both the launch rocket and the Kazachok landing platform that would carry the rover to the Martian surface. But in a meeting on 28 February, the 22 member states of ESA asked the agency to enforce sanctions against Russia. Then, on 17 March, ESA announced it would be suspending Rosalind Franklin’s launch and seeking to replace all Roscosmos components required for the mission.
“The decision was made that this launch cannot happen, given the current circumstances and especially the sanctions that are imposed by our member states,” said ESA Director General Josef Aschbacher. “This makes it practically impossible, but also politically impossible to have a launch of [the rover] in September.”
ESA is looking into ways it can continue without Roscosmos, such as working with NASA. But the mission would need to be extensively reworked and wouldn’t be ready until 2026 at the earliest.
The mission is just one of many that have been affected. ESA has ceased all Soyuz launches from its facility in French Guiana, while Russia has broken several contracts to supply parts in response.
One place that both ESA and NASA continue to cooperate with Roscosmos, for the time being, is aboard the International Space Station. The station is specifically designed to require the involvement of all parties to function, and Roscosmos is responsible for maintaining its orbit. Roscosmos is only contracted to support the station until 2024, however. The agency was in talks to renew its commitment until 2031, when the station was due to be decommissioned, but the head of Roscosmos Dmitry Rogozin has made comments about withdrawing support, should the sanctions continue.
“We’ll closely monitor the actions of our American partners and if they continue to be hostile, we’ll return to the question of the existence of the International Space Station,” said Rogozin.