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ExoMars Rover Could Be Canceled

NASA can no longer contribute its share to the project

Oct 1, 2011 10:58 GMT  ·  By
This is a rendition of how ExoMars would look like on the surface of the Red Planet
   This is a rendition of how ExoMars would look like on the surface of the Red Planet

The ExoMars mission the European Space Agency (ESA) is supposed to conduct with NASA is in danger of being canceled, after the Americans announced that budget cuts no longer allow them to contribute the Atlas V delivery system they pledged for the international project.

Given the current economic predicaments in the US, the National Aeronautics and Space Administration could not escape unscathed. The organization will receive a very low budget in 2012, which will fail to provide funds for a large number of critical endeavors.

ExoMars may also fall victim to these cuts at NASA, as the joint Laser Interferometer Gravitational-Wave Observatory (LIGO) mission did earlier this year. The satellite constellation was being built for detecting gravitational waves, but then the American space agency pulled out due to lack of funds.

The ESA rover mission itself has been plagued by misfortune since the get-go. The exploration robot passed through several design changes, reflecting the amount of money the space agency estimated it could allot to the project.

In recent years, these pledged sums have constantly diminished, forcing engineers to design ExoMars as a shadow of its former self. At this point, this blow from NASA might easily become the last nail in the rover's metaphorical coffin.

Top officials from both NASA and ESA will meet on Monday, October 3, in a meeting that is likely to determine the ultimate fate of the explorations robot. In order to avoid cancellation with NASA out of the loop, ESA will have to turn to the Russians.

At this point, the agency is working on a trade system with the Russian Federal Space Agency (RosCosmos). If the document materializes, then it may be possible to acquire a Proton delivery system for ExoMars from the Russians, Universe Today reports.

ESA estimates that ExoMars will cost a total of €850 million ($1.36 billion) without NASA participation. The bulk of these funds were already paid to contractors and subcontractors, which already bought the raw material needed to create the rover's instruments and frame.

The meeting between NASA Administrator Charles Bolden and ESA Director-General Jean-Jacques Dordain – to be held at the International Astronautical Congress, in Cape Town, South Africa – will ultimately decide the fate of ExoMars.