The European Space Agency (ESA) is Europe’s gateway to space. Its mission is to shape the development of Europe’s space capability and ensure that investment in space continues to deliver benefits to the citizens of Europe and the world.
Find out more about space activities in our 23 Member States, and understand how ESA works together with their national agencies, institutions and organisations.
Exploring our Solar System and unlocking the secrets of the Universe
Go to topicProtecting life and infrastructure on Earth and in orbit
Go to topicUsing space to benefit citizens and meet future challenges on Earth
Go to topicMaking space accessible and developing the technologies for the future
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The ExoMars 2016 spacecraft - consisting of the Trace Gas Orbiter (TGO) and the Schiaparelli entry, descent and landing demonstrator - is in Baikonur, Kazakhstan, preparing for its mid-March launch on a Russian Proton rocket.
This joint European and Russian mission will test key exploration technologies and search for evidence of methane and other rare gases in the martian atmosphere. These gases could result from geological processes or they could be signatures of current biological activity on the planet.
Three days before reaching Mars in October, Schiaparelli will separate from the orbiter and coast towards the planet in hibernation mode to reduce power consumption. The film covers the journey, the orbit of the Trace Gas Orbiter, the separation of the Schiaparelli lander and its 20 000 km/hour descent and eventual landing. It also contains filming at ESA’s European Space and Technology Centre (ESTEC) Mars Yard in the Netherlands.
Learning more about Mars’ water and environment will shed further light on this planet - while knowing the origin of its methane could finally answer the exciting question of whether there is life on Mars.
The A-roll and B-roll contains soundbites from ALVARO GIMENEZ, Director of Science and Robotic Exploration, ESA (English); and JORGE VAGO, ExoMars project scientist, ESA [English, Spanish, Italian].