The European Space Agency (ESA) may be inching closer towards a remarkable milestone. With the Schiaparelli space vessel emerging after months of exploring in the abyss, a Mars landing is finally within reach.
Although NASA has long dominated the deep space expeditions, the ESA gets a chance to establish its own footing and capitalize from there. After severing ties from its orbital partner, the lander is on course to land on the Red Planet anytime soon.
The spacecraft that will be making history has been named after 19th century Italian astronomer Giovanni Schiaparelli. As director of the Brera Observatory in Milan, the star observer focuses his attention on Mars and started mapping the planet's surface for the first time.
During his investigation, Schiaparelli has been able to observe deep pits across Mars. Although he mistakenly identified the features as canals, the astronomer remains ingrained in history considering that he was among the firsts to probe the Red Planet.
The Schiaparelli mission is one half of the ExoMars project which is actually a joint venture between the ESA and Russia's Roscosmos space agency. The other half is the orbital vessel that brought the lander close to the Martian surface. This orbiter will continue to explore the planet's atmosphere, gathering information along the way and transmitting these data back to Earth. Activities of the ExoMars Trace Gas Orbiter include measuring traces of methane on Mars surface, planet map enhancement and connecting signals between the rovers and the control center on Earth.
It must be revealed that this is not the first time that the ESA has attempted to land on Mars. In 2003, the Beagle-2 lander has disappeared following its separation from its orbital vessel.
Although the ESA is on the verge of a breakthrough with the Schiaparelli mission, it remains to be seen if the spacecraft will be able to fulfill its responsibilities considering that the Martian weather is a big challenge to deal with. Just recently, American researchers are anticipating a long overdue massive dust storm. In addition, the craft's battery sustainability will come into question once the Schiaparelli buckles down to work on the surface.
