Posted: Mon, Oct 17, 2011, 7:32 AM ET (1132 GMT)
Unable to get a commitment from NASA, the European Space Agency (ESA) is in discussions with Russia to launch a Mars orbiter later this decade. ESA had planned to have a Mars orbiter spacecraft, part of its ExoMars program, launched in 2016 on an Atlas 5 in cooperation with NASA. However, NASA has been unable to formally commit to that launch, raising concerns in Europe that the deal may fall through. ESA has now contacted the Russian space agency Roskosmos about cooperating on ExoMars, either in addition to or in place of NASA. In addition to the 2016 orbiter, ESA and NASA have planned to cooperate on a 2018 lander and rover mission.

Related Links:

•  Space News article
•  BBC article
•  Nature News article
•  RIA Novosti article