Russia-Ukraine war leaps to Space: Mars mission suspended
0Russia-Ukraine war leaps to Space: Mars mission suspended
The European Space Agency (ESA) announced that it has suspended the ExoMars program, a joint Mars mission with the Russian Federal Space Agency (Roscosmos), due to Russia's attacks on Ukraine.
Reactions and sanctions against Russia due to its attacks on Ukraine continue in all areas.
The European Space Agency (ESA) announced that it has suspended the ExoMars program, a joint Mars mission with the Russian Federal Space Agency (Roscosmos), due to Russia's attacks on Ukraine.
"As an intergovernmental organization tasked with developing and implementing space programs with full respect for European values, we deeply condemn the aggression, human losses and tragic consequences against Ukraine," the ESA said in a statement.
In the statement, underlining that the decision taken against Russia is compatible with the decisions taken by the member states, ESA's Executive Council, which met in Paris on March 16-17, evaluated the situation arising from the war in Ukraine on the ExoMars issue. "The current impossibility of carrying out the ongoing cooperation with Roscosmos on the ExoMars rover mission to be launched in 2022 has been unanimously recognized, and the Director-General of ESA has been instructed to take appropriate steps to suspend cooperation activities in line with the decision."
“Following Roscosmos' decision to withdraw its personnel from the European Spaceport in French Guiana, the planned launch by Soyuz is given the mandate to identify available forward options and conduct rapid industrial work to implement the ExoMars rover mission,” the statement said. All missions have been suspended.
Emphasizing that the International Space Station (ISS) program will continue, the statement said, “The International Space Station Program continues to operate nominally. The main purpose is to continue the safe operations of the ISS, including ensuring the safety of the crew.