NASA confirms support for delayed European Mars rover: ESA / Photo: BEN STANSALL - AFP/File
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NASA confirms support for delayed European Mars rover: ESA
NASA has confirmed that it will contribute to Europe's Martian rover Rosalind Franklin, which is scheduled to launch in 2028 after repeated delays, the European Space Agency said on Wednesday.
The rover aims to be the first on the red planet capable of drilling up to two metres (6.5 feet) below the surface to search for extraterrestrial life.
However, the mission relies on several elements from NASA, which US President Donald Trump has targeted with steep budget cuts since returning to the White House in January.
ESA director general Josef Aschbacher said he had received "a letter from the NASA administration to confirm the contributions" of the US space agency to the mission.
"That is good news," Aschbacher said on the sidelines of the ESA's ministerial council meeting being held this week in the German city of Bremen.
The mission was originally intended to launch in 2020, but suffered several setbacks.
In 2022, it was suspended after the ESA ended cooperation with Russia -- the agency's main partner for the mission -- following Moscow's invasion of Ukraine.
The ESA then turned to the United States for help.
Aschbacher said NASA was contributing to three of the mission's elements: the launcher, radioisotope heater unit and braking engine.
The braking engine had been confirmed some time ago, but the other two elements will be a relief for the ESA.
NASA is also providing "one instrument to analyse traces of possible life on Mars," Aschbacher added.
The rover, which is named after British scientist Rosalind Franklin, is planned to touch down on the Martian surface in 2030.
P.Stevenson--AMWN