European Space Agency Stops Cooperation with Russian Lunar Missions

European Space Agency Stops Cooperation with Russian Lunar Missions
TT
20

European Space Agency Stops Cooperation with Russian Lunar Missions

European Space Agency Stops Cooperation with Russian Lunar Missions

The European Space Agency on Wednesday ended cooperation with Russia on three missions to the Moon due to Moscow's invasion of Ukraine, following a previous decision to do the same for a Mars mission.

The ESA said it would "discontinue cooperative activities" on Luna-25, 26 and 27, a series of Russian lunar missions on which the European agency had aimed to test new equipment and technology, AFP said.

In late March, collaboration on ExoMars, a plan to land a rover on Mars to drill into the soil and search for signs of life, was suspended as well.

"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," the ESA said in a statement.

The ESA had planned to have a navigation camera called Pilot-D on the Luna-25 probe, whose launch is scheduled for this summer.

ESA Director-General Josef Aschbacher told a press briefing the camera was going to be dismantled and taken off the launch, and that Russia's space agency, Roscosmos, had already been informed.

The ESA is looking for other options and partners to test the technology that would have formed part of the Russian missions, it said, adding some had already been found.

An alternative mission for Pilot-D "is already being procured from a commercial service provider", the agency said.

Equipment including a lunar drill originally planned for Luna-27 will now be launched on a NASA-led mission instead.

A study on new options for the ExoMars components was being fast-tracked as well, the ESA said.

That mission had been supposed to launch in September.



Iran Confirms Meeting European Officials on Friday

FILE PHOTO: Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araqchi meets with Lebanese Foreign Minister Youssef Rajji (unseen) in Beirut, Lebanon June 3, 2025. REUTERS/Mohamed Azakir/File Photo
FILE PHOTO: Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araqchi meets with Lebanese Foreign Minister Youssef Rajji (unseen) in Beirut, Lebanon June 3, 2025. REUTERS/Mohamed Azakir/File Photo
TT
20

Iran Confirms Meeting European Officials on Friday

FILE PHOTO: Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araqchi meets with Lebanese Foreign Minister Youssef Rajji (unseen) in Beirut, Lebanon June 3, 2025. REUTERS/Mohamed Azakir/File Photo
FILE PHOTO: Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araqchi meets with Lebanese Foreign Minister Youssef Rajji (unseen) in Beirut, Lebanon June 3, 2025. REUTERS/Mohamed Azakir/File Photo

Iran's Foreign Minister Abbas Araqchi confirmed on Thursday he would meet his British, French and German counterparts as well as the European Union's top diplomat on Friday in Geneva, Iranian state media reported.

He said the meeting had come at the request of the three European states.

Iran’s Revolutionary Guard on Thursday warned the US again to avoid getting directly involved in the conflict between Iran and Israel, saying in a statement that “direct” role by the Americans would “expand the conflict to the region.”

“We warn the criminal United States: any direct involvement in this war would lead to its expansion across the region and will result in severe and irreparable blows,” the guard said in a statement carried by Iranian state TV.

The warning echoes recent statements made by other Iranian officials, including Supreme Leader Ali Khamenei, and comes as US President Donald Trump has said he’s not looking for a fight with Iran but stands ready to act if necessary.