Europe’s Mars rover faces launch delays due to sanctions on Russia
By 
Rebecca Trager2022-03-03T09:30:00
Mars probe is ‘very unlikely’ to launch in 2022 due to deteriorating relationship between Europe and Russia after invasion of Ukraine
The European ExoMars rover that was due to launch aboard a Russian rocket in September will almost certainly be delayed because of sanctions against Russia following its invasion of Ukraine. The rover, which was due to land on the red planet in June 2023 and search for traces of life beneath the surface, is part of the international ExoMars programme led by the European Space Agency (ESA) and the Russian state space agency Roscosmos.