04/05/2016 (Agence Europe) - 2nd ExoMars mission postponed for two years. Shortly after the successful launch of a first probe to Mars (see EUROPE 11512), the European Space Agency (ESA) and its Russian sister agency, Roskosmos, made an announcement on Monday 2 May, in which it explained that the launch of the second stage of the ExoMars mission (involving a European-led rover equipped with a 2 m drilling arm for exploring life under the Martian soil) would be postponed until July 2020. This decision was taken following a report by the Joint ExoMars Steering Board (JESB), which stated that industrial activities had taken too long in both the EU and Russia and subsequently, they would be unable to organise a launch in 2018. Rolf de Groot, Head of the Robotic Exploration Coordination Office at ESA, said that "We were unable to reduce the test deadlines without jeopardising the whole mission". He emphasised that this delay would have financial repercussions and that member states would be requested for additional funding during the ministerial meeting in December. He also pointed out that there were technical ramifications too because NASA, the US space agency, would be landing its rover in March 2020 of the same year, which could possibly saturate the Earth-Mars communications network. (PH)