The project is a collaboration between the European Space Agency (ESA) and Russia’s Roscosmos, but the proposed launch has been put on hold for the time being.
The ESA said that it was “fully aligned” with the sanctions imposed on Russia by its member states despite the impact on the scientific exploration of space.
It said there was currently no chance of “carrying out the ongoing cooperation with Roscosmos” on the ExoMars rover mission which was supposed to launch at some point this year.
Dr Josef Aschbacher, ESA’s director general, said activities on the project would be suspended and a study looking into other options to continue to implement the ExoMars rover mission would be fast-tracked.
Following the decision by Roscosmos to withdraw its personnel from Europe’s Spaceport in French Guiana, all missions scheduled for launch by Soyuz have also been put on hold.
These relate to four currently planned missions, Galileo M10 and Galileo M11, which will...