Mars Exploration Joint Initiative

Collobrative design at point called for two rovers being delivered at once that would explore Mars together. In 2010 there was the idea to these into one larger 600 kg rover.[1]

The Mars Exploration Joint Initiative (MEJI) is an agreement signed between United States' space agency, NASA, and Europe's space agency, ESA to join resources and expertise in order to continue the exploration of the planet Mars.[2] The agreement was signed in Washington D.C. in October 2009, between NASA administrator Charles Bolden and ESA director-general Jean-Jacques Dordain.[2]

In its hey-day it resulted in a synergy between NASA Mars Science Orbiter and the Aurora ExoMars program, the combination of a flexible collaborative proposal within NASA and ESA to send a new orbiter-carrier to Mars in 2016 as part of the European-led ExoMars project.[3] One of the goals was for NASA to provide to Atlas V launches for ExoMars, however in the early 2010s planetary exploration in the USA was not given enough money to fund this plan.[4]

Under the FY2013 budget President Barack Obama released on 13 February 2012, NASA terminated its participation in ExoMars due to budgetary cuts in order to pay for the cost overruns of the James Webb Space Telescope.[5] With NASA's funding for this project cancelled, most of ExoMars' plans had to be restructured.[4]

  1. ^ Brief ExoMars Project History, spaceflight101.com. Retrieved 2016-11-13
  2. ^ a b Amos, Jonathan (8 November 2009). "NASA and ESA sign Mars agreement". BBC News. Retrieved 2009-11-09.
  3. ^ MEPAG Report to the Planetary Science Subcommittee Author: Jack Mustard, MEPAG Chair. July 9, 2009 (pp. 3)
  4. ^ a b Whewell, Megan (15 February 2012). "Have Europe's Martian exploration plans been derailed by America?". MSN News. Archived from the original on 11 May 2012. Retrieved 15 February 2012.
  5. ^ Kremr, Ken (1 February 2012). "Experts React to Obama Slash to NASA's Mars and Planetary Science Exploration". Universe Today. Retrieved 18 February 2012.