A European rover will land on the Martian surface on March 19, 2021 as part of the 2020 mission of the ExoMars joint project with Russia, Dmitry Rogozin, head of the Russian space agency Roscosmos, said on Saturday.

"The mission to Mars will be launched on July 25, 2020. On March 19, 2021, a Russian lander is to deliver gently the European rover to the surface of the Red Planet," he wrote on Facebook.

The mission was reported to be scheduled for March 2021, but a fixed date was not named.