5 March 2022 | New Scientist | 9Jonathan O’Callaghanin a Mars mission,” says Chris Lee,
former chief scientist at the UK
Space Agency. “How can we
sanction that when there is a
war taking place in Ukraine?”
The rover had already been
delayed from 2020, partly because
of the coronavirus pandemic. If it
were delayed again to avoid Russian
cooperation, the next window for
launch would be in 2024. But
Russia was also set to supply
the landing system for the rover,
so a new one would have to be
developed from scratch. “I’d be
very surprised if they could do all
that within two years,” says Lee.
Josef Aschbacher, ESA’s director
general, said on 25 February that
collaborations would continue, but
strains are starting to show, with
reports on 28 February of ESA
refusing a meeting with Rogozin.
Satellite firm OneWeb faces the
most immediate challenge. The
company, which the UK government
owns a £370 million stake in,
is in the process of deploying a
megaconstellation of satellites
that can beam the internet aroundthe world. So far, more than
400 satellites have been flown
on 13 launches, all on Russian
Soyuz rockets. At least five
more take-offs are scheduled,
including one on 4 March from
Baikonur. As New Scientist went
to press, both OneWeb and the UK
government declined to comment.
“The launch campaign
is in the final stages,” says
Anatoly Zak, editor of website
RussianSpaceWeb. com. “Much
of the work is done, so who
knows what will happen. It looks
like it is proceeding at this point.” ❚The Rosalind Franklin
Mars rover is now unlikely
to launch in 2022THE European Union is expected
to unveil a plan to reduce its
dependence on Russian gas
supplies, in the latest of a string
of repercussions for the European
energy landscape following
Russia’s invasion of Ukraine.
Oil and gas prices have spiked
in the wake of the war. Russia
is the world’s second-largest oil
and gas producer, providing 17 per
cent of gas output and 13 per cent
of oil production globally in 2020.
About 40 per cent of Europe’s gas
comes from Russia. In the UK, the
figure was about 4 per cent in 2021.
The invasion has already made
Germany pause Nord Stream 2,
a major new gas pipeline from
Russia, and order a review of how
the country secures its energy.
Russian oil and gas has continued
flowing since the invasion began.
But experts say European
countries need to be prepared
for the possibility of supplies
being halted, despite the financial
hit Russia would take.
“The biggest leverage [Russian
president Vladimir] Putin has over
Europe’s head is the ability to turn
off the gas,” says Sony Kapoor at
the European University Institute
in Italy. Contingency planning is
under way and energy demand
could be reduced to mitigate the
impact of such a drastic move,
he adds. But Kapoor says Russia
turning off supplies would still
be “a complete disaster for the
European economy”.
Germany is likely to diversify
the sources of its gas imports
by using more liquefied natural
gas (LNG) transported by tankers,
says Andreas Löschel at Ruhr
University Bochum in Germany.
German chancellor Olaf Scholz
said on 27 February that the
country would accelerate work
on two planned LNG terminals.
Löschel thinks it is politically
unlikely that Germany will delay
its nuclear power phase-out,
planned for the end of the year.
However, Germany’s economy
minister, Robert Habeck, said on
27 February he wouldn’t reject anextension. Germany is expected
to burn more coal as a short-term
response to high gas prices, but
Löschel thinks the country’s
long-term plan to bring forward
an end date for using coal power
from 2038 to 2030 remains safe.
The European Commission
was due to publish a strategy on
reducing EU reliance on Russian
hydrocarbons on 2 March, but that
has been delayed to allow the blocto finalise proposals. The plan will
reportedly include a 40 per cent
cut in fossil fuel use by 2030.
EU energy commissioner
Kadri Simson said on 28 February
that she hoped to synchronise
European power networks with
Ukraine’s electricity grid so it
will continue to function. She also
said ministers were discussing
the security of the energy supply
in Europe. “We are prepared for
any eventuality,” she said.
European energy companies
are taking matters into their
own hands. UK oil giant BP said
on 27 February that it would sell
its 19.75 per cent share in Russian
state oil company Rosneft, taking
up to a $25 billion hit. Norway’s
Equinor said it is also exiting
joint ventures in Russia, and
UK oil firm Shell followed suit.
The invasion will cause big
longer-term changes in energy,
says Tim Lord at the Tony Blair
Institute for Global Change
in the UK. “It strengthens the
argument to move away from
fossil fuels, for economic and
geopolitical reasons [as well as
environmental ones],” he says. ❚Energy
Adam Vaughan
EY
EP
RE
SS
NEWS/SHUTTE
RS
TOCKEuropean countries and companies
are cutting energy ties to Russia
The Nord Stream 2
pipeline from Russia
was halted by Germany40%
Proportion of Europe’s gas
that comes from Russia
ES
A/ATGMEDIALA
B