The conflict in Ukraine is now impacting space travel, with Europe’s Mars rover mission scheduled for this year now delayed
Member states of the European Space Agency voted earlier to postpone the joint mission with the Russians because of the Ukraine invasion.
ESA Council delegates say they thought there was no alternative, placing the rover into storage until a different route to Mars is organised.
Now the options available are to await an improvement in international relations and reform a relationship with the Russian space agency or to find another partner to help Europe replenish the technologies they do not have.
The mission could be delayed for many years, with it now being practically and politically impossible to launch the rover in September.
There are only a couple of weeks every 26 months when the launch is possible due to the positioning of the planets.
If this window is missed the project must be stood down for two years.
The earliest launch can be expected late in 2024, with the rover only landing in mid 2025.
