NASA is likely to shoulder a major chunk of a planned unmanned European mission to Mars that has been troubled by rows over design and budget, the European Space Agency (ESA) said on Monday.
The ExoMars mission, the flagship of ESA's "Aurora" programme to explore the Solar System, was initially sketched in 2005 as a small robot rover that would be sent down to the Red Planet and cost no more than 650 million euros (890 million dollars).
But as the project developed, its design became more ambitious and the likely cost ballooned at one time to nearly twice the original figure, an estimate rejected by ESA's member states.
Its launch, initially scheduled for 2011, was pushed back to 2013 and was delayed last year for a third time, to 2016.
At a press conference at the Paris Air Show, ESA Director General Jean-Jacques Dordain said the agency was "close to having an agreement" with NASA over sharing out the project.
"We should have an exchange of letters of intent by the end of the month," he said.
"Through this agreement with NASA, which is a long-term cooperation agreement on robotic exploration of Mars, NASA will contribute significantly to the ExoMars mission," said Dordain.
"I think this significant contribution will keep on the European side the most important technologies that we wanted to demonstrate, which is landing, moving on the surface and drilling.
"The lander, the rover and the device to drill the surface of Mars will be provided by ESA while NASA will provide the launcher and the carrier orbiter," he said.
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