{"id":1888678,"date":"2026-04-17T16:15:25","date_gmt":"2026-04-17T13:15:25","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/analyse.optim.biz\/?p=1888678"},"modified":"2026-04-17T16:15:25","modified_gmt":"2026-04-17T13:15:25","slug":"nasa-restarts-work-to-support-europes-uncrewed-trip-to-mars-after-years-of-setbacks","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/analyse.optim.biz\/?p=1888678","title":{"rendered":"NASA restarts work to support Europe&#8217;s uncrewed trip to Mars after years of setbacks"},"content":{"rendered":"<p>[analyse_image type=&#8221;featured&#8221; src=&#8221;https:\/\/s.yimg.com\/ny\/api\/res\/1.2\/VRvbJLb8w.nJ3jDoABRflQ&#8211;\/YXBwaWQ9aGlnaGxhbmRlcjt3PTEyMDA7aD03NjY-\/https:\/\/s.yimg.com\/os\/creatr-uploaded-images\/2026-04\/0c69a1f0-3a75-11f1-a76f-c0ec0e2a3567&#8243;]<\/p>\n<article id=\"article-6fc4ec1f-ea3a-482a-abb1-8cfbcae8cf8f\">\n<div>\n<div class=\"mx-auto md:px-10 md:max-w-[1220px]\">\n<nav class=\"prestige-breadcrumb relative mx-4 md:mx-0\" aria-label=\"breadcrumbs\">\n<ol class=\"no-scrollbar overflow-scroll whitespace-nowrap text-battleship\">\n<li class=\"inline\">\n<li class=\"inline-block cursor-default last:pr-10 md:last:pr-20 font-bold\">Science<\/li>\n<li class=\"inline-block cursor-default last:pr-10 md:last:pr-20 ml-2 before:mb-0.5 before:mr-3 before:inline-block before:size-2 before:rotate-45 before:border-r-2 before:border-t-2 before:border-battleship\">Space<\/li>\n<\/ol>\n<\/nav>\n<header class=\"mb-4 px-4 md:mb-6 md:px-0\">\n<h1 class=\"layout-h1 my-2 font-bold leading-tight\">NASA restarts work to support Europe&#8217;s uncrewed trip to Mars after years of setbacks<\/h1>\n<h2 class=\"my-2 text-[18px] font-light leading-5 md:max-w-[660px] md:text-[20px]\/[28px]\">The Rosalind Franklin rover could finally have a ride to the red planet so it can look for signs of ancient life.<\/h2>\n<div class=\"flex-col items-start lg:flex lg:flex-row lg:items-center lg:justify-between mt-6\">\n<div class=\"relative md:mr-[10px]\">\n<div class=\"flex items-center\">\n<div class=\"flex mr-2\">\n<div class=\"shrink-0 cursor-pointer inline-block size-[42px] lg:size-[48px]\"><img decoding=\"async\" alt role=\"img\" loading=\"lazy\" class=\"size-full rounded-full object-cover object-center shadow-[0_0_0_2px_#ffffff]\" src=\"https:\/\/s.yimg.com\/ny\/api\/res\/1.2\/TcQCYKuJU_9Vi2dogRUGcg--\/YXBwaWQ9aGlnaGxhbmRlcjt3PTgwO2g9ODA-\/https:\/\/o.aolcdn.com\/images\/dims?image_uri=https%3A%2F%2Fs.yimg.com%2Fos%2Fcreatr-uploaded-images%2F2023-04%2Fbe2dabc0-dee3-11ed-af74-cc21123945d3&amp;compress=1&amp;progressive=1&amp;quality=75&amp;client=hawkeye&amp;signature=b1b4a88b5678acf357d4ca80e15ee9cff64e9455\"><\/div>\n<\/div>\n<div class=\"inline-block\">\n<div class=\"w-max text-sm\/5 font-semibold lg:!flex flex items-center\">\n<div class=\"flex flex-col\">\n<div class=\"flex w-max items-center\">Lawrence Bonk<\/div>\n<p><span class=\"font-normal sm:before:inline-block\">Contributing Reporter<\/span><\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<div class=\"lg:hidden\">\n<div class=\"text-xs text-dolphin dark:text-shark md:text-sm\/5 pt-4\">\n<div class=\"inline-block\"><time datetime=\"2026-04-17T16:15:25.000Z\">Fri, April 17, 2026 at 4:15 PM UTC<\/time><\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<div class=\"ml-0 mt-4 flex items-center lg:ml-3 lg:mt-0\">\n<div class=\"ml-0 mr-2\">\n<div class=\"relative flex\">Add Engadget on Google<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<div class=\"hidden lg:block\">\n<div class=\"text-xs text-dolphin dark:text-shark md:text-sm\/5 pt-4\">\n<div class=\"inline-block\"><time datetime=\"2026-04-17T16:15:25.000Z\">Fri, April 17, 2026 at 4:15 PM UTC<\/time><\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/header>\n<\/div>\n<div class=\"grid grid-cols-1 gap-x-8 lg:gap-x-0 mx-auto md:px-10 md:max-w-[1220px] md:grid-cols-[[main-start]_1fr_[main-end_right-start]_min-content_[right-end]] lg:!gap-x-8\">\n<div class=\"md:col-main\" data-i13n-boundary=\"true\">\n<div>\n<div>\n<div class=\"grid grid-cols-[[fullbleed-start_body-start]_minmax(auto,750px)_[body-end_fullbleed-end]]\">\n<figure class=\"relative col-body mb-4\">\n<div class=\"relative overflow-hidden fig-image-round left-1\/2 w-screen -translate-x-1\/2 md:left-0 md:w-auto md:translate-x-0\"><img decoding=\"async\" alt class=\"object-cover object-center\" src=\"https:\/\/s.yimg.com\/ny\/api\/res\/1.2\/4dnzKR0No9mfI48YlvSNbQ--\/YXBwaWQ9aGlnaGxhbmRlcjt3PTEyNDI7aD03OTM-\/https:\/\/s.yimg.com\/os\/creatr-uploaded-images\/2026-04\/0c69a1f0-3a75-11f1-a76f-c0ec0e2a3567\"><\/div><figcaption class=\"relative text-[0.875rem]\/[1.25rem] figure-caption mt-1 line-clamp-2 mt-2.5 md:mt-2 pr-2.5\">\n<div><span>ESA<\/span><\/div>\n<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<div class=\"grid grid-cols-article-mobile md:grid-cols-article lg:max-w-[750px] drop-cap\" data-article-body=\"true\">\n<p class=\"col-body mb-4 leading-7 text-[18px] md:leading-8 break-words min-w-0 charcoal-color\">NASA <ins>has confirmed the pending launch<\/ins> of the European Space Agency&#8217;s (ESA) Rosalind Franklin rover, which is being sent to Mars. The current plan is to launch via a SpaceX Falcon Heavy rocket from Kennedy Space Center. The timing is still being worked out, but the space agency says this won&#8217;t happen until at least 2028.<\/p>\n<p class=\"col-body mb-4 leading-7 text-[18px] md:leading-8 break-words min-w-0 charcoal-color\">This is a partnership between NASA and the ESA, with the European agency providing the rover, the spacecraft and the lander. The US will provide braking engines for the lander, heater units for the rover&#8217;s internal systems and, of course, assistance with the actual launch.<\/p>\n<p class=\"col-body mb-4 leading-7 text-[18px] md:leading-8 break-words min-w-0 charcoal-color\">The rover will be outfitted with scientific instruments to look for signs of ancient life on the red planet. These include a state-of-the-art mass spectrometer and an organic molecule analyzer, which will come in handy as the vehicle collects samples at the Oxia Planum landing site.<\/p>\n<p class=\"col-body mb-4 leading-7 text-[18px] md:leading-8 break-words min-w-0 charcoal-color\">This is a mission that has suffered years of delays for all kinds of wild reasons. It was actually first conceived <ins>all the way back in 2001<\/ins>. The rover mission was originally scheduled for 2009, after NASA came on board. Budget constraints forced NASA to drop out in 2012, so Russia signed on as the ESA&#8217;s launch partner.<\/p>\n<div class=\"col-fullbleed mb-4 bg-marshmallow pb-5 dark:bg-ramones md:invisible md:mb-0 md:h-0 md:overflow-hidden md:pb-0\">\n<div class=\"py-2 text-center text-xs uppercase\">Advertisement<\/div>\n<div class=\"flex w-full flex-nowrap justify-center\">\n<div class=\"flex\" id=\"_R_nd9nam95feiv5tilbH1_\">\n<div class=\"flex size-full items-center justify-center bg-marshmallow text-center leading-3\">Advertisement<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<div class=\"col-body mb-4 hidden pb-5 dark:bg-ramones md:block\">\n<div class=\"flex w-full flex-nowrap justify-center\">\n<div class=\"flex\" id=\"_R_17d9nam95feiv5tilbH1_\">\n<div class=\"flex size-full items-center justify-center bg-marshmallow text-center leading-3\">Advertisement<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<p class=\"col-body mb-4 leading-7 text-[18px] md:leading-8 break-words min-w-0 charcoal-color\">During this period, the mission <ins>experienced technical malfunctions<\/ins> which <ins>forced additional delays<\/ins>. The ESA <ins>suspended its partnership with Russia<\/ins> in 2022 after the country invaded Ukraine. This left the mission in doubt until 2024, when NASA <ins>came back into the fold<\/ins>.<\/p>\n<p class=\"col-body mb-4 leading-7 text-[18px] md:leading-8 break-words min-w-0 charcoal-color\">However, the setbacks didn&#8217;t even end there. The Trump administration has repeatedly tried to end NASA&#8217;s involvement with the project, and many others, <ins>via stark budget cuts<\/ins>. The current proposal was made while the <ins>Artemis II crew was on their mission<\/ins> around the Moon, <ins>according to a report by <\/ins><em><ins>The Register<\/ins><\/em>. Here&#8217;s hoping the launch actually happens in 2028.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<div class=\"md:col-main grid grid-cols-article-mobile md:grid-cols-article lg:max-w-[750px]\">\n<div class=\"no-scrollbar col-body mx-4 mb-8 mt-2.5 overflow-x-scroll whitespace-nowrap md:mx-0 md:max-w-[750px] md:overflow-x-visible md:hidden\">\n<div class=\"mx-auto max-w-screen-sm\">\n<ul class=\"inline-flex text-xs md:text-sm\">\n<li class=\"mr-6\">About our ads<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/article>\n<div class=\"grid grid-cols-article-mobile md:grid-cols-article lg:max-w-[750px] drop-cap\" data-article-body=\"true\">\n<p class=\"col-body mb-4 leading-7 text-[18px] md:leading-8 break-words min-w-0 charcoal-color\">NASA <ins>has confirmed the pending launch<\/ins> of the European Space Agency&#8217;s (ESA) Rosalind Franklin rover, which is being sent to Mars. The current plan is to launch via a SpaceX Falcon Heavy rocket from Kennedy Space Center. The timing is still being worked out, but the space agency says this won&#8217;t happen until at least 2028.<\/p>\n<p class=\"col-body mb-4 leading-7 text-[18px] md:leading-8 break-words min-w-0 charcoal-color\">This is a partnership between NASA and the ESA, with the European agency providing the rover, the spacecraft and the lander. The US will provide braking engines for the lander, heater units for the rover&#8217;s internal systems and, of course, assistance with the actual launch.<\/p>\n<p class=\"col-body mb-4 leading-7 text-[18px] md:leading-8 break-words min-w-0 charcoal-color\">The rover will be outfitted with scientific instruments to look for signs of ancient life on the red planet. These include a state-of-the-art mass spectrometer and an organic molecule analyzer, which will come in handy as the vehicle collects samples at the Oxia Planum landing site.<\/p>\n<p class=\"col-body mb-4 leading-7 text-[18px] md:leading-8 break-words min-w-0 charcoal-color\">This is a mission that has suffered years of delays for all kinds of wild reasons. It was actually first conceived <ins>all the way back in 2001<\/ins>. The rover mission was originally scheduled for 2009, after NASA came on board. Budget constraints forced NASA to drop out in 2012, so Russia signed on as the ESA&#8217;s launch partner.<\/p>\n<div class=\"col-fullbleed mb-4 bg-marshmallow pb-5 dark:bg-ramones md:invisible md:mb-0 md:h-0 md:overflow-hidden md:pb-0\">\n<div class=\"py-2 text-center text-xs uppercase\">Advertisement<\/div>\n<div class=\"flex w-full flex-nowrap justify-center\">\n<div class=\"flex\" id=\"_R_nd9nam95feiv5tilbH1_\">\n<div class=\"flex size-full items-center justify-center bg-marshmallow text-center leading-3\">Advertisement<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<div class=\"col-body mb-4 hidden pb-5 dark:bg-ramones md:block\">\n<div class=\"flex w-full flex-nowrap justify-center\">\n<div class=\"flex\" id=\"_R_17d9nam95feiv5tilbH1_\">\n<div class=\"flex size-full items-center justify-center bg-marshmallow text-center leading-3\">Advertisement<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<p class=\"col-body mb-4 leading-7 text-[18px] md:leading-8 break-words min-w-0 charcoal-color\">During this period, the mission <ins>experienced technical malfunctions<\/ins> which <ins>forced additional delays<\/ins>. The ESA <ins>suspended its partnership with Russia<\/ins> in 2022 after the country invaded Ukraine. This left the mission in doubt until 2024, when NASA <ins>came back into the fold<\/ins>.<\/p>\n<p class=\"col-body mb-4 leading-7 text-[18px] md:leading-8 break-words min-w-0 charcoal-color\">However, the setbacks didn&#8217;t even end there. The Trump administration has repeatedly tried to end NASA&#8217;s involvement with the project, and many others, <ins>via stark budget cuts<\/ins>. The current proposal was made while the <ins>Artemis II crew was on their mission<\/ins> around the Moon, <ins>according to a report by <\/ins><em><ins>The Register<\/ins><\/em>. Here&#8217;s hoping the launch actually happens in 2028.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<p>[analyse_source url=&#8221;https:\/\/www.engadget.com\/science\/space\/nasa-restarts-work-to-support-europes-uncrewed-trip-to-mars-after-years-of-setbacks-161524488.html&#8221;]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>[analyse_image type=&#8221;featured&#8221; src=&#8221;https:\/\/s.yimg.com\/ny\/api\/res\/1.2\/VRvbJLb8w.nJ3jDoABRflQ&#8211;\/YXBwaWQ9aGlnaGxhbmRlcjt3PTEyMDA7aD03NjY-\/https:\/\/s.yimg.com\/os\/creatr-uploaded-images\/2026-04\/0c69a1f0-3a75-11f1-a76f-c0ec0e2a3567&#8243;] Science Space NASA restarts work to support Europe&#8217;s uncrewed trip to Mars after years of setbacks The Rosalind Franklin rover could finally have a ride to the red planet so it can look for signs of ancient life. Lawrence Bonk Contributing Reporter Fri, April 17, 2026 at 4:15 PM UTC Add Engadget [&hellip;]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[2],"tags":[226,63],"class_list":["post-1888678","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-politics","tag-crawlmanager","tag-engadget-com"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/analyse.optim.biz\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1888678","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/analyse.optim.biz\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/analyse.optim.biz\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/analyse.optim.biz\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/analyse.optim.biz\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=1888678"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/analyse.optim.biz\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1888678\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/analyse.optim.biz\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=1888678"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/analyse.optim.biz\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=1888678"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/analyse.optim.biz\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=1888678"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}