Vasily Moroz from the Russian Space Research Centre said the two sides had considered using a US-built probe with a Russian booster rocket and descentmodule, but that the project was drawn to a halt by funding issues.
Europe is keen to have a go at touching down on Mars and the current baseline design for the orbiter mission calls for a 600kg entry, descent and landing module.
After an explosion in Apollo 13's service module cut off propulsion and power, the lunar excursion module (LEM) was used as a lifeboat to provide life support to the three astronauts, and the engine of its descent stage for course changes, until the command module could re-enter the atmosphere after a long coast around the moon.