To replace Russian lander, Europe’s ExoMars rover won’t launch until 2028

On May 6, the European ExoMars Mars probe was originally scheduled to be launched in September this year. Due to the need to replace the Russian-made landing platform, the launch of the Mars probe may be delayed until 2028.

ESA’s ExoMars project scientist, Jorge Vago, said at a meeting of the Mars Exploration Project Analysis Panel on Tuesday, local time, that the European Space Agency is currently considering various options and will soon submit a workable proposal to member states. plan.

The ExoMars project was originally developed by the European Space Agency in cooperation with Russia. For now, if the European Space Agency continues to send its rover, Rosalind Franklin, to Mars, it will need a lot of money to find alternative systems for several technologies that Roscosmos is responsible for developing. The ExoMars rover, originally planned to cost $1.37 billion, was previously scheduled to launch in September 2022. A new landing platform, a new rocket, and several other technologies originally provided by Roscosmos are now required.

“In July of this year, we will present to member states the direction of a proposal,” Vigo said. “This proposal will forecast the financial cost of the ExoMars rover.”

The European Space Agency officially ceased cooperation with Russia in March this year. The ExoMars project, which was already on track for launch after a significant delay from the original plan and over budget, may now be the biggest casualty for the two sides to stop cooperating.

Roscosmos plans to launch the rover on a proton rocket from the Baikonur Cosmodrome in Kazakhstan. Roscosmos has also built a Kazakh landing platform for the ExoMars rover, which will not only send the rover to the surface of Mars, but also carry out scientific research projects at the landing site.

Vigo said that while ESA has most of the technology to build its own landing platform, it will seek to acquire some technology from NASA that cannot currently be produced in the region.

“We didn’t have that kind of descent engine that we could use,” Vigo said. “We’ll use the same type of unit that we used to transport the Curiosity or Perseverance rovers, but maybe use fewer engines. The other thing we need to replace is the radioactive heating unit, which we don’t have in Europe either.”

However, rebuilding the landing platform and reconfiguring the mission will take time. If the mission goes ahead, the launch is unlikely to take place before 2028, Vigo said.

“We could launch a rover on a Proton rocket in 2024 in cooperation with Roscosmos, but now I think that is less and less likely,” he said. “2026 is theoretically possible, but in 2026 In practice, we thought it would be very difficult to reconfigure and produce the lander on our own. So a 2028 launch of the rover is more realistic, and even then it still needs some help from NASA.”

To be clear, the launch window for Mars missions only opens every 26 months.

NASA was the European Space Agency’s original partner in the ExoMars project, but in 2012 NASA opted out of the Hehe project after the US government cut its budget. Then Roscosmos joined the project, filling the vacancy.

The 2028 launch date means the ExoMars rover will reach Mars 10 years later than originally planned. The mission was originally scheduled to launch in 2018, but was delayed due to problems with the landing parachute.

Another delay in the project means there won’t be a long time between the ExoMars rover’s arrival on Mars and the sample return mission. Even so, astrobiologists still see value in the ExoMars rover, which is equipped with a 2-meter-long drill that can collect samples from deep within the Martian surface. Scientists believe this makes it more likely to collect traces of past or present life on Mars.

Without the protection of a magnetic field and a thin atmosphere, Mars is constantly bombarded by the solar wind, leaving the surface deserted. NASA’s Perseverance rover has already begun collecting samples for the sample return mission, but its drill is much shorter than the ExoMars rover and can’t get to that depth.