Europe approved a budget of 1.4 billion dollars for the Mars rover and the extension of the International Space Station

The funding for the two luxury projects constitutes a large share of investments totaling 10.3 billion euros that was approved at the meeting of the Council of Ministers held in Lucerne, Switzerland against the background of the tension between Europe and Russia due to the invasion of Ukraine and involvement in the civil war in Syria, as well as against the background of uncertainty regarding the budget priorities of the Trump administration.

Ministers from the member states of the European Space Agency have approved a budget of 1.4 billion euros as a lifeline for the program to place an all-terrain vehicle on Mars, even though the demonstration vehicle crashed a few weeks ago, and to maintain a presence on the space station.

The financing for the two luxury projects constitutes a large share of investments totaling 10.3 billion euros approved at the meeting of the Council of Ministers held in Lucerne, Switzerland.

ESA heads warned ahead of the meeting that the talks could be challenging given the current economic and political situation in Europe. The situation did not improve after the €230 million demonstration lander, intended to prepare the ground for the planned SUV, crashed on the red planet in October.

However, the CEO of the European Halal Agency Jan Werner announced during the conference that the 22 ministers from the member states of the agency plus Slovenia and Canada, which make up the council, agreed on "a large amount of money for the future. This allows us to really go forward," he said in a press conference broadcast from Lucerne.

The ministers agreed to invest 1.45 billion euros until 2021 in space research - including about 960 million for the ISS and an additional 436 million for the ExoMars project. A budget of 3.8 billion will be allocated for scientific development until 2021, 1.3 billion for projects in the field of communication satellites until 2024, and 1.6 billion for satellite launchers until 2023.
Ministers approved the funding just six weeks after the Sciprili lander crashed on Mars. This is Europa's second failure to reach the surface of the Red Planet. A lander designed to test the atmospheric resistance ahead of the planned landing of the SUV that has already been postponed from 2018 to 2020 due to funding concerns. The vehicle will be equipped with a drill to look for signs of life - past or present - under the surface of Mars.
ESA previously budgeted 1.5 billion euros for the ExoMars project in collaboration with Russia, which also included a satellite that orbited Mars, and it also reached its destination last October, this time in Shalonam. Ministers on Friday also ended up leaving certainty about Europe's role on the International Space Station beyond 2020. Participating nations have agreed to operate and fund the station at least until 2024. Warner said "
The ministers also agreed to advance the construction of the service module for NASA's planned Orion spacecraft, designed to transport crew to the International Space Station, the moon and beyond.
The meeting came at the height of tensions in relations between Europe and Russia due to what is happening in Ukraine and Syria, as well as the uncertainty that has arisen regarding the direction of the International Space Station under President-elect Donald Trump.

ESA requested cooperation with Russia in Protech ExoMars because cuts in the US budget led NASA to withdraw from the mission in 2012. Many fear that Trump will make further cuts, risking the position of the US in space in general and the International Space Station in particular.