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ExoMars was left without transport to Mars. / October 11, 2011 /

ExoMars rover project was in jeopardy — The European Space Agency can not find the launcher to send the unit into space. It is reported by the blog UniverseToday.

According to the newspaper, representatives of NASA and ESA will hold on Monday, October 3, meeting at which they will have to decide what to do with the project. The main difficulty lies in the fact that NASA’s own budget cuts in the background will not be able to provide the Atlas V for the planned launch in 2018.

Currently, in addition to variants of the closure of the mission, both agencies consider the option of using the Russian «Proton». In 2009, one of the legacy project, the missile was seen as a replacement for America’s «Atlas».

ExoMars rover designed to search for traces of life on Mars (as long extinct, and now current). In addition, it is expected to examine the surface composition of Mars, as well as to clarify the possible dangers that could face the manned mission. The project cost is 1.36 billion dollars.

ExoMars — not the only mission that encountered difficulties. For example, the project telescope NASA «James Webb,» which should become the heir of «Hubble», was on the verge of closing because of cost overruns. However, it is likely that the device will be launched.

Source: Lenta.Ru

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