Europe steers lander towards Mars surface

Europe sent a tiny lander on a three-day, million-kilometre (621,000-mile) trek to the Martian surface Sunday to test-drive technology for a daring mission to scout the Red Planet for evidence of life. There were nervous moments for ground controllers when the unmanned mothership, dubbed Trace Gas Orbiter (TGO), stopped sending status updates just as it despatched the paddle pool-sized lander, Schiaparelli, on its way. The TGO and Schiaparelli, launched into space in March, comprise phase one of