Home
Science
Science News
Delayed ExoMars Mission Gets EUR 77 Million Boost

Delayed ExoMars Mission Gets EUR 77 Million Boost 3n3dg

By Agence -Presse | Updated: 17 June 2016 11:12 IST

Highlights

The cash boost has come from Italy, the UK, and .
The next stage of the mission will see the launch of a European rover.
ExoMars mission will complement the work of Nasa's Curiosity rover.

ment

The second part of a delayed t European-Russian mission to probe Mars for traces of life has received a crucial EUR 77 million ($86 million) cash injection, the European Space Agency said Thursday.

In the first phase, the delayed by two years to 2020. 585f69

The cash boost has come from the project's main European partners Italy, the UK, and and will be used to offset the additional costs caused by the delay announced in May.

David Parker, the ESA's director of human spaceflight, told AFP: "We asked... the member states 'do you want to continue with this mission?'"

The next stage of the mission will see the launch of a European rover capable of drilling up to two metres (about seven feet) into the Martian surface in search of organic matter.

"It was an unanimous decision of the whole council to continue with this program," he said of the meeting held in Paris Wednesday.

"It is an important confirmation of the of the member states to the project. I am positive."

The double Nasa's Curiosity rover, which has been criss-crossing Mars' surface for more than three years.

Space has been one of the few areas of cooperation between Moscow and the West that has not been damaged or derailed by ongoing geopolitical tension in Ukraine, Syria and elsewhere.

Comments

For the latest reviews, follow Gadgets 360 on X, Facebook, WhatsApp, Threads and Google News. For the latest videos on gadgets and tech, subscribe to our YouTube channel. If you want to know everything about top influencers, follow our in-house Who'sThat360 on Instagram and YouTube.