European Space Agency delegates suspend the project to send a UK-built robot to Mars this year.
One of the difficulties is the narrowness of possible windows to launch to Mars.A mission typically gets a couple of weeks every 26 months when the positions are favourable. If the window is missed, a project must stand down for two years.
Rosalind Franklin is the second stage in a two-part space programme with Russia known formally as ExoMars. All elements of the rover mission are essentially built and ready to go. If there were no war in Ukraine, it would be launching on a Russian rocket, being shepherded to Mars by a German-built spacecraft, and then placed on the surface of the Red Planet by a Russian landing mechanism.Another non-Russian rocket could be found to launch the robot in 2024, but sourcing Western hardware to place the vehicle on the surface of the planet would not be so straightforward.
"We've had a first reflection and it is judged feasible for the rest of this decade to have the hardware ready to fly," said David Parker, the Esa director for human spaceflight and robotics.
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