Mars will have to wait. ExoMars mission postponed to 2022 for further testing

The Mars ExoMars mission was in a race against time to meet the imposed deadline of 2020. The mission had been planned for almost 10 years, and the European Space Agency and Roscosmos were expected to ship the new rover to Mars. In the last year, the planning suffered some disruptions, after two failed tests in the use of the parachute, to guarantee a safe landing of the rover transport ship.

Due to the need for further testing, the agencies announced in a statement the postponement of the mission to 2022. Initially they would be launched between July 25 and August 13, 2020. After a risk assessment and timetable, experts conclude that more testing is needed to make all the components are suitable for the transport ship and require more time to complete them, both in terms of hardware and software.

According to ESA's Director-General, Jan Wrner, the mission needs a 100% success rate, with no margin of error being allowed, and for this purpose more verification activities are needed to ensure a safe trip with the best scientific results. Flight dedicated hardware is said to be integrated into the ship. The Kazachok landing pad is equipped with 13 scientific instruments and the Franklin rover with its 9 instruments has recently passed tests.

The entities understand that the coronavirus outbreak in Europe also affected operations in this final phase, especially in the necessary trips of the technicians involved.

The ExoMars mission aims to search for life on the red planet and consists of two phases. The first took off in 2016, with the launch of two vehicles to Mars. The first was placed in its orbit to test the atmospheric gases that are eventually generated by living organisms. The other was sent to its surface to probe the surface and test the necessary technologies that now need to be carried out in the second phase.

tek exomars 2020 Updated schedule with the launch of the ExoMars mission.

The second phase will be starred by the Franklin robotic rover, a space all-terrain that will be the first of its kind to combine the ability to roam Mars, but also to pierce it. This one will collect samples at a depth of two meters, analyzing its composition, looking for signs of past life and, who knows, current.