Russia needs to build ExoMars equipment by mid-2014
MOSCOW. April 9 (Interfax-AVN) - Scientific instruments for the Russian-European ExoMars mission must be ready by the middle of next year, Space Research Institute department director Oleg Korablyov told a press conference in Moscow on Monday. He said that was the demand of the European Space Agency (ESA).
"The gadgets are due to be delivered in August 2014. Only prototypes can be supplied in 2014 while the flight items will be ready closer to the launch," Korablyov said.
Financing of the production of the Russian instruments began in 2013.
Federal Space Agency (Roscosmos) head Vladimir Popovkin and his ESA counterpart Jean-Jacques Dordain signed an agreement on the ExoMars mission in Paris on March 14. There will be two missions to Mars in 2016 and 2018.
A Russian delegation member told Interfax-AVN back then that Russia might install its scientific instruments in the orbiter and the landing module. NPO Lavochkin is supposed to build the gadgets.
Roscosmos will provide Proton launch vehicles, Briz-M upper stages and launch services to both missions.