Mars rover mission suspended because of Ukraine war – here’s what we’re hoping for next
Just a few months ago, we were confidently expecting to launch our rover, Rosalind Franklin, to Mars in September as part of the ExoMars mission, a collaboration between Europe and Russia.
The landing was planned for June 2023. Everything was ready: the rover, the operations team and the eager scientists.
The final preparations started in February 21, with part of our team heading to Turin, Italy, to carry out the final alignment and calibration tests.
All was going well, though some of the team were slightly delayed by Storm Eunice in the UK. Three days later, they had nevertheless finished the work – leaving some wonderful data, which would help us decide where Rosalind would drill on Mars.
The industry team started packing the rover, which was ready to be shipped to the launch site.
Then, a storm far more powerful and tragic than Eunice descended on Ukraine: Russia’s invasion.
The situation developed in the next days and weeks, leading to a series of emergency meetings.
On March 17, the European Space Agency (Esa)‘s council and member states decided to suspend our mission. We won’t know for sure what happens next until a study by Esa and industry partners reports back in July – but there are causes for optimism.
The Rosalind Franklin rover is unique among all the rovers planned for Mars. It can drill deeper than any before it – up to two metres below the harsh surface. This is important as the subsurface is protected from harmful radiation, and could therefore contain signs of past or present life.
Rosalind’s instruments include our PanCam, which is a camera that will do geology and atmospheric science on Mars – complemented by the other cameras and a sub-surface sounding radar.
Rosalind will also collect pristine samples from
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