NASA budget cuts threaten Europe's already troubled flagship Mars rover.

Cuts to NASA's budget proposed by President Donald Trump would likely cause further delays to Europe's ExoMars rover mission, due to the fact that some critical technologies currently unavailable in Europe were to be provided by the American space agency.

When Europe began planning for its first rover to land on Mars in the early 2000s, NASA was its partner of choice. Somehow, that alliance proved troubled. NASA withdrew from the ExoMars project in 2012 after the Obama administration eliminated its funding for the mission. Russia's space agency Roscosmos stepped in, committing to provide a rocket, a landing module and a few other bits and pieces.

After several delays and budget overruns, the project was finally on schedule to launch in September 2022. But Russia's invasion of Ukraine meant that cooperation had to end. NASA stepped back in 2024, offering to help ESA make it to the launch pad by 2028. The Trump budget cuts now mean Europe may have to go it alone, possibly facing further delays.

NASA was to provide a launcher, a propulsion system to slow down the ExoMars landing module during its descent, and radioisotope heaters to keep the rover warm in the cold Martian night. Europe doesn't have fully developed replacements for either of these technologies, however, and insiders think it may not be able to get them ready for the 2028 launch window.

ESA refused to comment on the situation, but sources familiar with the development told Space.com that although technical capabilities to replace the missing elements exist in Europe, the "launch clock is ticking" and a delay beyond 2030 would be likely. That could result in further complications as some aspects of the mission might have to change as the alignment between Earth and Mars that takes place about every two years doesn't always occur at the same distance.

The ExoMars rover, named Rosalind Franklin after a British chemist who studied the structure of DNA, has a unique scientific proposition. It carries a 6-foot (2-meter) drill, which can access soil layers much deeper below the Martian surface than NASA's prolific sample-collector Perseverance can. Because Mars only has a very thin atmosphere, its surface is constantly battered with radiation from the sun, which would have most likely destroyed any living organisms a long time ago. If any life has ever been on Mars, it (or traces of it) would have more likely survived deeper below the planet's surface.

Source: www.space.com

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