Mars Mission Update: ExoMars Blasts Off in Search of Life
On Monday morning, the joint mission by the European and Russian space agencies rocketed off into outer space to track possible signs of active biological life on Mars.
According to CNN, the probe will go around Mars, searching for any evidence that life may be present in the famous planet. Called the ExoMars Trace Gas Orbiter, the spacecraft was given the mission to look into traces of methane and other atmospheric gases that could lead to the further confirmation that life still goes on in the so-called "Red Planet."
The unmanned mission which lifted off from Kazakhstan is said to reach the planet in about seven months, bringing hope to earthlings regarding man's possible journeys not only in Mars but also deeper into space in the future.
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One of the gases that the spacecraft will measure on Mars is methane, a natural gas produced on Earth and could signal the presence of life as some scientists believe methane on Mars may be the waste of microbial life forms still inhabiting the planet.
Despite the hopes for the mission's success, the European Space Agency noted that there are other possibilities regarding the presence of methane on Mars. "However, other purely geological processes, such as the oxidation of certain minerals, also release methane," the agency explained.
Space.com notes that NASA's Curiosity rover was able to detect huge amounts of methane levels on the planet's surface back in 2013 and in 2014 but since then, it was never concluded was caused the production of the natural gas.
The mission is only the first phase of a two-part journey set for the purpose of finding life on Mars. In 2018, the second phase will commence and will see a deep-drilling rover penetrating Mars' surface.
Earlier studies point out that there have been geological evidence gathered by various missions suggesting the planet once homed a massive ocean on its surface but through time, the body of water dried up. If the ExoMars spacecraft tracks the gases needed for further evidence, the probe's success is expected to bring further hype and missions to prove Mars' chances of life.
