"ExoMars 2016" - European, Russian space agencies launch mission to Mars Monday March 14,2016

European, Russian space agencies launch mission to Mars

 

Europe and Russia launched a joint mission Monday March 14,2016 to explore the atmosphere of Mars and hunt for signs of life on the red planet. 

 

The unmanned ExoMars probe- a collaboration between the European Space Agency and Roscosmos - took off from a base in Kazakhstan aboard a Russian rocket. 

Mission controllers in Darmstadt, Germany, said they began receiving a signal from the spacecraft about 11 hours after launch, after it had successfully separated from the rocket and deployed its solar wings to continue on its journey. 

It is expected to reach Mars in October 2016