Europe and Russia successfully launched a joint mission on March 14. The ExoMars probe aims to hunt for signs of life on the Red Planet.
The first of two joint European Space Agency (ESA)-Roscosmos (Russia) missions to Mars began a seven-month journey, where it will explore and address mysteries of the planet's atmosphere. This could provide answers on both geological and biological activity on the planet.
The ExoMars Trace Gas Orbiter and the Schiaparelli entry, lifted off aboard a Proton-M rocket with a Briz-M upper stage from Baikonur Cosmodrome, Kazakhstan on Monday, at 9:31 UTC.
About 12 hours later, ESA made its contact with the spacecraft indicating that the launch was a success. The spacecraft is expected to arrive in Mars on October 19 at about 16:00 UTC.
"It's been a long journey getting the first ExoMars mission to the launch pad, but thanks to the hard work and dedication of our international teams, a new era of Mars exploration is now within our reach," said Johann-Dietrich Woerner, ESA's Director General.
"I am grateful to our Russian partner, who have given this mission the best possible start today. Now we will explore Mars together," he added.
This year, ESA and Roscosmos' mission includes a Trace Gas Orbiter (TGO) that will search for traces of methane and other compounds that could possibly be emitted by biological sources.
Methane is produced by biological or geological activity, and breaks down within a short period of time once it reaches the atmosphere.
The Schiaparelli entry is also included which will demonstrate complex landing technology for a larger and ground-based Exomars rover expected to launch in 2018.
The United States space agency, NASA, was originally part of the project as a partner of ESA. However, due to financial constraints, it withdrew from the project in 2012. Roscosmos, Russia's Space Agency, has replaced NASA in the project. ESA and Roscosmos now aim to become key players in space exploration.
"We're not only looking forward to the world-class science data that this mission will return, but it is also significant in paving the way for the second ExoMars mission, which will move our expertise from in-orbit observations to surface and subsurface exploration of Mars," said Alvaro Giménez, ESA's director of Science.
