Aragorn
14th March 2016, 18:39
On Monday the 14th of March 2016, the European Space Agency (ESA) (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/European_Space_Agency) and the Russian Roscosmos State Corporation (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Roscosmos_State_Corporation) have launched the ExoMars explorer from the Baikonur Cosmodrome (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Baikonur_Cosmodrome) in Kazakhstan in order to look for signs of life — past or present — on Mars by examining the red planet's atmosphere and soil for traces of certain gasses. The ExoMars probe consists of an orbiter and a lander with a small rover.
https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/5/51/Baikonur_Cosmodrome_Soyuz_launch_pad.jpg/800px-Baikonur_Cosmodrome_Soyuz_launch_pad.jpg
The Baikonur Cosmodrome
The article below is from The Guardian (https://www.theguardian.com/science/2016/mar/14/mars-methane-mission-liftoff-exomars-trace-gas-orbitor-alien-life)...:
"The search for life on Mars has entered a new era with the launch of a spacecraft built to sniff out waste gases released by alien organisms.
The ExoMars Trace Gas Orbiter (TGO) blasted into an overcast sky on a Proton rocket from Baikonur cosmodrome in Kazakhstan at 09:31 GMT on Monday.
A joint mission by the European and Russian space agencies, the probe will circle the red planet and measure minute levels of atmospheric gases, among which may be the natural waste products of microbial Martians.
ExoMars: 'giant nose' to sniff out life on Mars prepares for launch
Read more
Mission scientists hope in particular to get to the bottom of the Martian methane mystery. The gas is produced in abundance by life on Earth, and its presence on Mars could signify alien bugs on, or under, the surface. But the gas is also released by chemical reactions in rocks, so on Mars at least, scientists cannot yet be sure of its origins.
“Maybe, maybe we can find out if there’s life extant on the red planet,” said Mark McCaughrean, senior science adviser at the European Space Agency (ESA), moments before the launch.
Scientists have detected whiffs of methane on Mars before. In 2004, ESA’s Mars Express orbiter measured levels of methane in the atmosphere at about 10 parts in a billion, suggesting there is at least some being produced on the planet. Ten years later, Nasa’s Curiosity rover recorded spikes in methane levels on the Martian surface, pointing to localised sources of the gas."
Video of the launch
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=aj7HjPmaQ40
Short video about the mission
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-JhCUVxjFfA
https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/5/51/Baikonur_Cosmodrome_Soyuz_launch_pad.jpg/800px-Baikonur_Cosmodrome_Soyuz_launch_pad.jpg
The Baikonur Cosmodrome
The article below is from The Guardian (https://www.theguardian.com/science/2016/mar/14/mars-methane-mission-liftoff-exomars-trace-gas-orbitor-alien-life)...:
"The search for life on Mars has entered a new era with the launch of a spacecraft built to sniff out waste gases released by alien organisms.
The ExoMars Trace Gas Orbiter (TGO) blasted into an overcast sky on a Proton rocket from Baikonur cosmodrome in Kazakhstan at 09:31 GMT on Monday.
A joint mission by the European and Russian space agencies, the probe will circle the red planet and measure minute levels of atmospheric gases, among which may be the natural waste products of microbial Martians.
ExoMars: 'giant nose' to sniff out life on Mars prepares for launch
Read more
Mission scientists hope in particular to get to the bottom of the Martian methane mystery. The gas is produced in abundance by life on Earth, and its presence on Mars could signify alien bugs on, or under, the surface. But the gas is also released by chemical reactions in rocks, so on Mars at least, scientists cannot yet be sure of its origins.
“Maybe, maybe we can find out if there’s life extant on the red planet,” said Mark McCaughrean, senior science adviser at the European Space Agency (ESA), moments before the launch.
Scientists have detected whiffs of methane on Mars before. In 2004, ESA’s Mars Express orbiter measured levels of methane in the atmosphere at about 10 parts in a billion, suggesting there is at least some being produced on the planet. Ten years later, Nasa’s Curiosity rover recorded spikes in methane levels on the Martian surface, pointing to localised sources of the gas."
Video of the launch
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=aj7HjPmaQ40
Short video about the mission
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-JhCUVxjFfA