The Exomars mission, on the tightrope due to the escalation of sanctions between Europe and Russia

In full escalation between Ukraine and Russia, and while international tensions are on the rise, the European Space Agency (ESA) has announced that go “unlikely” the takeoff of the exomars martian mission, his great project to step on the Martian soil and that, until now, he had carried out in collaboration with the Russian space agency Roscosmos. “The sanctions [impuestas a Rusia] and the current context make a launch in 2022 very unlikely,” says Europe in an official statement published on Monday. According to the document, from now on the director general of ESA, Josef Aschbacher, “analyze all options and prepare a formal decision on the path to be followed by the member states of the ESA”. Likewise, the European partners of the agency (among which Spain stands out) as well will evaluate the continuity of all space missions in collaboration with Russia.

The decision comes after a weekend plagued by tensions between the world’s leading space agencies. A few days ago, the director of the Russian agency Roscosmos, Dmitry Rogozin, announced that he was canceling all the joint launches that they had agreed with their European and American counterparts. He also stated that, “in response to the sanctions imposed by Europe against our companies”, ordered the immediate withdrawal of all its scientific personnel and a technician at the Kourou space base in French Guiana, a place that, until now, had become a symbol of international cooperation.

Russia’s withdrawal from Kourou could, at first, suppose an obstacle for the takeoff of several European and American missions, which until relatively recently traveled to space aboard Russian Soyuz rockets. In recent years, however, the North American agency NASA has pulled SpaceX spacecraft for its trips (especially those that go to the International Space Station). And now, after the worsening of relations with Russia, Europe affirms that it will pull its own launchers in operationas well as the future Vega C and Ariane 6.

First steps

The braking of Exomars and the change of space launch vehicles are, for now, the first official measures announced by the European Space Agency in response to the escalation of war with Russia. But, according to the entity’s statement issued on Monday, “ESA continues to monitor the situation in close contact with its member states”, so It is not ruled out that more sanctions will be announced in the future against their Russian counterparts.

We deplore the tragic events taking place in Ukraine, a crisis which escalated dramatically into war in recent days. Many difficult decisions are now being taken at ESA in consideration of the sanctions implemented by the governments of our Member States.https://t.co/nOg8orZr1n https://t.co/5Mr6WexY9I

— Josef Aschbacher (@AschbacherJosef) February 28, 2022

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“We regret the tragic events taking place in Ukraine, a crisis that has escalated dramatically into war in recent days. ESA members are making many difficult decisions,” says Aschbacher, director of the entity, in a message published this Monday on their social networks. According to the agency’s official statement, in addition, at this time the European partners “are giving absolute priority to decision making adequate, not only for the good of our workforce involved in the programs, but in the full respect for our European values“.