Space probe begins rare attempt to land on Mars
A European spacecraft has detached from its mothership in an attempt to make a tricky landing on Mars, the European Space Agency (Esa) has said.
Schiaparelli is the first Esa probe in nearly 15 years to try to make contact with the Red Planet. The 8ft disc-shaped lander is designed to monitor Martian weather rather than look for signs of life.
But it will also test a landing system to be used for a future mission looking for evidence of past or present organisms. 0 Schiaparelli: on its way from mothership to surface of Mars
It is hoped that Schiaparelli will fare better than its predecessor Beagle 2.
That craft vanished on Christmas Day in 2003 after separating from the Mars Express orbiter.