![ESA has never attempted a lunar landing. "[We] jumped over the idea of a moon rover and focused on the ExoMars mission instead [because] Between 2005 — 2010 America started whispering 'the Chinese are coming, we need to go back to the moon." Now with NASA budget cuts, that mission is under threat.](https://www.byteseu.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/07/bT_cE0FDz6kMBU2GMAl64TAhQ5XzpOOVbPnY17Nrubg-1536x768.jpeg "ESA has never attempted a lunar landing. “[We] jumped over the idea of a moon rover and focused on the ExoMars mission instead [because] Between 2005 — 2010 America started whispering ‘the Chinese are coming, we need to go back to the moon.” Now with NASA budget cuts, that mission is under threat.")
ESA has never attempted a lunar landing. “[We] jumped over the idea of a moon rover and focused on the ExoMars mission instead [because] Between 2005 — 2010 America started whispering ‘the Chinese are coming, we need to go back to the moon.” Now with NASA budget cuts, that mission is under threat.
https://www.supercluster.com/editorial/has-europe-given-up-on-the-new-moon-race
1 Comment
ExoMars started as an ESA-NASA cooperation. NASA was supposed to provide the lander and ESA the rover.
Then the US pulled out, forcing us to ask Russia instead.
Then 2022 happened and obviously Russia was no longer an option.
After begging the US, they finally accepted to honor the deal they themselves had made and provide the landing platform.
Then the US pulled out again.
Meanwhile the Rosalind Franklin rover has been collecting dust in storage for years.