Europe's mission to Mars is due to launch on March 14 as ExoMars Trace Gas Orbiter and its piggyback Schiaparelli landing probe are set to hunt for signs of life on the Red Planet. It will set off along a Russian Proton rocket from Baikonur Cosmodrome, Kazakhstan.
This orbiter is the first in a series of Mars missions to be performed by two space agencies, the European Space Agency and Roscosmos State Corporation, Russia's space agency. The main purpose of the mission is to shed light on the presence of methane and atmospheric gases even in small concentrations that could provide evidence for possible life on Mars.
"The orbiter will perform detailed, remote observations of the Martian atmosphere, searching for evidence of gases of possible biological importance, such as methane and its degradation products," said in ESA's mission description.
The instruments carried by the orbiter will perform investigations and measurements on the sources of these trace gases. It is expected to begin by December 2017 that will last for five years.
Scientists have discovered based on observations that the presence of small amounts of methane in the atmosphere of Mars changed throughout various locations and time. Methane's existence means that there is a source of this gas but they are not sure where it came from - biological or chemical sources.
To address this problem, the orbiter will transport a scientific cargo that can detect and distinguish gases in the atmosphere. It's designed to detect various atmospheric gases including water vapor, nitrogen oxides, methane and acetylene.
The orbiter is tasked to monitor seasonal changes in the composition and temperature of the atmosphere. This will help make atmospheric models which will help scientists study the Red planet.
The orbiter will mostly conduct scientific investigations until the second mission in the program begins with the arrival of its rover in 2018.
ExoMars or Exobiology on Mars was originally planned by the European Space Agency with NASA but due to budget constraints, they dropped out of the project in 2012. A year later, Roscosmos continued where NASA left off and contributed to the success of the mission.
