Whether or not life on Mars is available only takes a few months to know

Finally, the question "yes or no" will be revealed in the very near future.

Recently, the ExoMars Trace Gas Orbiter of the European Aeronautics Agency (ESA) has recently officially started a mission to search for life on Mars.

Trace Gas Orbiter was launched in 2016, but only reached the Red planet in April 2018. Using the aerobraking technique (slowing down the atmosphere) the ship has moved 98,000 km of elliptical orbit around the planet, at a height of 400km above the surface.

Trace Gas Orbiter - ESA's exploration vessel.

"This is a great milestone in the ExoMars project , and also a great success for the whole of Europe," said Pia Mistchdoerfer, Trace Gas Orbiter campaign manager.

"We first got into orbit by aerobraking technology, and were the heaviest probe ever to Mars, and began the process of finding signs of life."

The goal of the ship is to track gas traces on the planet's surface, as its name suggests, "trace gas" . The "gas" here is only 1% of Mars's atmosphere, and ESA wants to determine what kind of gas it is.

In addition, experts expect to find gases that can only be generated by biological activities - such as methane - because it is a sign of life.

If it is determined that there is methane here, there is something going on beneath the surface of Mars.

On Earth, methane can be considered a byproduct of living activity, created by living organisms. Volcanoes and geological activities can also create methane. On Mars, methane gas here is only about 400 years old - that is " very new". If it is determined that there is methane here, there is something going on beneath the surface of Mars.

"In the next few weeks the campaign will be launched, and we are looking forward to what it will bring" - Håkan Svedhem, the project expert said.

"Trace Gas Orbiter has enough sensitivity to detect gases after only minutes, which means it is enough to discover whether Mars still" lives "or not."

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