Russia joins Europe on Martian sample return mission

Russia will join the European Space Agency to launch a mission to Mars to sample dirt for signs of life, stepping in after NASA pulled out, the Russian space agency said on Friday.

Despite describing the ExoMars project as the “Holy Grail of Mars exploration”, NASA left the $1.3 billion project in February, citing a budget crunch and a change in focus.

That gave Europe little choice but to turn to Russia or China for a launch vehicle for the two-spacecraft mission to collect and return soil from the Red Planet. Launches are planned in 2016 and 2018.