Because of the Ukraine war, the joint space projects between Russia and Europe are in the wind

The future of the promising ExoMars program to explore Mars, the product of a joint scientific and technical effort between European and Russian space agencies, appears to have been clouded by Russia's military operations against Ukraine.

politics in science

And the European Space Agency (ESA) announced, in an official statement on February 28, that after the meeting of member states, the launch of the mission this year would be "extremely unlikely", and this comes in the context of the application of sanctions against Russia by European and American countries.

In its statement announcing the potential delay, the European Space Agency said it deplores the human toll and tragic consequences of the war in Ukraine, and that its decisions take into account not only its workforce, but European values.

The launch of the Exo Mars mission this year will be "highly unlikely" due to the application of sanctions against Russia (Getty)

And because the planets Mars and Earth approach each other once every two years, the next launch opportunity will be in November 2024, and this is the third time that the launch of the mission has been postponed, as its original launch date was in 2018, and it seems that it may never launch if the turbulence continues In the relationship between Russia and the West.

big job

The cost of "Exo Mars" amounted to $ 1.4 billion, and it aims to discover any signs of organic life buried deep under the surface of the Red Planet, whether they are still active or exist in the deep past of Mars, as well as studying the gaseous components of the Martian atmosphere and searching for The sources of their composition, diversity in the aquatic and geochemical environment of the planet.

In addition, the program was supposed to study new technical possibilities, such as landing a heavy payload on the surface of Mars, the possibility of drilling two meters deep below the surface of the planet, and the possibility of exploiting solar energy on the surface of the planet.

The Russian agency has withdrawn its staff from the main spaceport of the European Space Agency in Kourou in French Guiana (Reuters)

Scholars' controversy

This is not the first time that the war in Ukraine and sanctions against Russia have affected forms of European-Russian cooperation in space science. The Russian agency has withdrawn its staff from the European Space Agency's main spaceport at Kourou in French Guiana.

In addition, launches on Russian Soyuz rockets that the European Space Agency uses in medium-sized launches have stopped, and the agency is already studying the possibility of converting its missions to rockets from other countries.

These mutual decisions have sparked a state of widespread controversy in the field of space science.

In one respect, some scholars argue that sanctions against Russia should cover everything from football to science to politics.

On the other hand, another team of scientists sees these measures as harsh, as researchers - from the Russian and European sides - will be affected at the beginning of their careers who rely on the data of this mission, and have nothing to do with the war.