Mars explorer duo on course: ESA

European-Russian spacecraft were on course for Mars Monday after crucial deep-space manoeuvres in preparation for a daring mission to find evidence of life on the Red Planet. The Trace Gas Orbiter (TGO) mothership despatched the tiny Mars lander called Schiaparelli Sunday on a three-day trek to the Martian surface in a key phase of the joint ExoMars project. There were nervous moments for ground controllers when the TGO, designed to enter Mars' orbit to analyse its atmosphere for signs of life,