Vladimir Putin’s Ukraine invasion has halted the hunt for aliens. The European Space Agency has ended cooperation with Russia on a series of missions that could unearth extraterrestrial life.
The agency has announced it will discontinue cooperative activities on three trips to the Moon - Luna-25, 26 and 27.Boffins had planned to test new equipment and technology on the Russian-driven space voyages.
Space agency chiefs have also suspended collaboration on the ET-hunting ExoMars operation. It was a plan to land a rover on Mars to drill into the soil and search for signs of alien life.
A spokesman for the space agency said: "As with ExoMars, the Russian aggression against Ukraine and the resulting sanctions put in place represent a fundamental change of circumstances and make it impossible for ESA to implement the planned lunar cooperation. "As an inter-governmental organisation mandated to develop and implement space programmes in full respect with European values we deeply deplore the human casualties and tragic consequences of the aggression towards Ukraine."While recognising the impact on scientific exploration of space ESA is fully aligned with the sanctions imposed on Russia by its member states."The ExoMars mission to the Red Planet - a joint venture between the European Space Agency and Roscosmos - was due to launch from the Baikonur Cosmodrome in Kazakhstan in September using a Russian Proton rocket.But ESA’s ruling council has suspended activities with Russia.
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