After years of setbacks, NASA restarts efforts to support Europe’s unmanned mission to Mars

NASA The European Space Agency’s (ESA) Rosalind Franklin rover is about to be sent to Mars. The current plan is to launch from the Kennedy Space Center on a SpaceX Falcon Heavy rocket. The timing is still being worked out, but the space agency says it won’t happen until at least 2028.

It is a partnership between NASA and the European Space Agency, with the European agency providing the rover, spacecraft and lander. The United States will provide the brake engine for the lander, heater units for the rover’s internal systems, and, of course, assist with the actual launch.

The rover will be equipped with scientific instruments to search for signs of ancient life on the Red Planet. These include state-of-the-art mass spectrometers and organic molecule analyzers that will be used when the craft collects samples at the Oxia Planum landing site.

This mission has been delayed for years for all kinds of crazy reasons. In fact, the original idea was . The rover mission was originally scheduled to be carried out in 2009 after NASA joined the mission. Budget constraints forced NASA to withdraw in 2012, so Russia signed on as ESA’s launch partner.

During this period, the task Which . European Space Agency After the country invaded Ukraine in 2022. This leaves the mission in doubt until 2024 when NASA .

However, the frustration is not over yet. The Trump administration has repeatedly attempted to end NASA’s involvement in this program, as well as many others, . The current proposal is around the moon, . Hopefully this product will actually launch in 2028.