Coronavirus and technical issues delay a Mars mission’s launch
A joint European and Russian mission to Mars is being postponed from July until sometime in 2022, as the coronavirus pandemic is preventing scientists from resolving a few technical difficulties, the European Space Agency said March 12. “We cannot fly in 2020,” ESA director general Jan Wörner says. “This is a disappointment for me personally, and for the teams working. But it’s better safe than sorry.” The ExoMars rover’s team had already been considering a delay to solve problems with the rover’s landing gear before the virus outbreak emerged. The parachute that will slow the rover’s descent through the thin Martian atmosphere developed tears in earlier tests. A new design will be tested in the next weeks or months, Wörner says. Other issues with the descent module’s electronic equipment meant components have been sent back to Russia for repairs, he says. And more tests needed to get the rover ready for launch require team members to travel between Italy, France and Moscow — impossible for now...