The Federal Space Agency and the European Space Agency on Thursday formally agreed to join forces to explore Mars in a project that will cost at least an estimated $1.8 billion.
The Federal Space Agency will contribute equipment, including rockets, and launch services for two robotic missions as part of a program called ExoMars, it said in a statement.
Space agency chief Vladimir Popovkin and his European counterpart Jean-Jacques Dordain met at the European Space Agency's headquarters in Paris to seal the partnership, which aims to send the next rover to Mars in 2018.
An earlier mission, in January 2016, seeks to launch an orbiter to the Red Planet.
"Today's signature … provides the basis for industry and scientific institutes to begin full cooperation on the missions and to meet the challenging schedule," the European agency said in a separate statement.
As its highest scientific priority, ExoMars will attempt to establish whether life ever existed on Mars, a goal it described as one of the outstanding scientific questions of our time.
ExoMars draws funding from 14 member states of the European Space Agency and is expected to cost the agency about $1.5 billion. As of November, contributors had committed about $1.1 billion.
In addition to two Proton carrier rockets, the Federal Space Agency, also known as Roscosmos, will be responsible for supplying Briz-M boosters, the 2018 descent module and surface platform.
Read more: Russia and Europe Seal Mars Deal | Business | The Moscow Times
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