Successfully launched the spacecraft to scavenge life on Mars

The ExoMars probe has left the launch pad successfully, starting a seven-month journey through space to look for signs of life on the red planet.

The Proton-M rocket carries the ExoMars probe which was launched from the Baikonur Cosmodrome cosmodrome in Kazakhstan at 9:30 am on March 14 (Hanoi 16:30). To reach Mars, the ship must pass a distance of 483 million km, the Daily Mail reported.

Illustration of ExoMars when arriving in Mars.(Photo: Daily Mail).

In the field of space exploration, the successful launch of ExoMars marks a milestone in the cooperation between Russia and Europe. Researchers believe that the probe will find strong evidence of the existence of extraterrestrial life, whether present or in the past.

ExoMars weighs 4.3 tons, including fuel. To separate from the atmosphere, the ship must fly up with high acceleration. Thus, scientists chose the big rocket, Proton-M, Dr. Michael Khan of the European Space Agency (ESA).

The rocket carrying ExoMars moved the launch pad.(Photo: AP).

As expected, ExoMars will arrive on October 19. The ship will analyze the surface of Mars in detail to determine whether methane is emitted from geological or biological sources, thereby finding signs of life on the red planet.

On Earth, one of the sources of methane comes from bacteria. Billions and billions of bacteria produce methane, some of which are very strong in animal gut, from cattle to termites. However, methane can also be derived from volcanic activity. Tracking Martian methane on Mars could help draw a map of seasonal methane distribution on the planet, said scientist Daniel, Russian Federal Space Agency (Roscosmos).