Extract from ABC News
Updated
A senior European Space Agency (ESA) official says
that the signal from the experimental Schiaparelli probe cut off before
its landing on Mars, which he says is "not a good sign".
Key points:
- Scientists are waiting on the status of the lander
- More information is expected later today
- Schiaparelli marks the second European attempt to land on Mars
The Schiaparelli lander began its risky descent to Mars on Wednesday, in Europe's first attempt to land a craft there since the Beagel 2's "heroic failure" more than a decade ago.
However, scientists are still waiting to find out what shape it is in.
Mr Ferri cautioned that more analysis of the data was needed to understand what had happened to the experimental lander during its descent on Wednesday.
During the 6-minute descent to the surface, it used a parachute and thrusters to slow from a speed of nearly 21,000 kilometres per hour, prior to its signal cutting off.
Mr Ferri said it was too soon to jump to conclusions, but "it's clear that these are not good signs".
"We have to wait a little bit to see what happens with the test lander," European Space Agency (ESA) director-general Jan Woerner said at ESA's Space Operations Centre in Darmstadt, Germany.
"But this (mission) is already a success so far."
'Inspired people for centuries'
The lander is named after Giovanni Schiaparelli, the Italian astronomer who in 1877 began mapping the topography of Mars, extending study of what are now known as the planet's canals."Mars has already inspired people for centuries," Mr Woerner told reporters.Schiaparelli is part of the European-Russian ExoMars program, which will search for signs of past and present life on Mars and represents only the second European attempt to land a craft on the Red Planet.
Britain's Beagle 2 was ejected from the Mars Express spacecraft in 2003 but never made contact after failing to deploy its solar panels upon landing.
At the time it was dubbed "a heroic failure".
Landing on Mars — Earth's neighbour some 56 million kilometres away — is a notoriously difficult task that has bedevilled most Russian efforts and given NASA trouble as well.
The United States currently has two operational rovers on Mars, Curiosity and Opportunity.
Entrepreneur Elon Musk's SpaceX is developing a massive rocket and capsule to transport large numbers of people and cargo to Mars with the ultimate goal of colonising the planet, with Mr Musk saying he would like to launch the first crew as early as 2024.
Is there life on Mars?
The primary goal of ExoMars is to find out whether life has ever existed on Mars.The spacecraft on which the Schiaparelli lander travelled to Mars, Trace Gas Orbiter (TGO), carries an atmospheric probe to study trace gases such as methane around the planet.
Scientists believe that methane, a chemical that on Earth is strongly tied to life, could stem from micro-organisms that either became extinct millions of years ago and left gas frozen below the planet's surface, or that some methane-producing organisms still survive.
"If there is life in our solar system beyond Earth, then Mars is the most interesting planet," Mr Woerner said.The second part of the ExoMars mission, delayed to 2020 from 2018, will deliver a European rover to the surface of Mars.
It will be the first with the ability to both move across the planet's surface and drill into the ground to collect and analyse samples.
Reuters/AP
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