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ESA's ExoMars orbiter rounds Red Planet, but Schiaparelli lander may be lost [i]Europe has a new spacecraft circling Mars, but the fate of its companion experimental lander is lost in the telemetry it transmitted, if not also physically lost on the Red Planet itself. The European Space Agency's (ESA) ExoMars Trace Gas Orbiter (TGO) entered orbit on Wednesday (Oct. 19) after a seven-month journey from Earth. The spacecraft, which is designed to search for signs of life in the atmosphere, is considered a cornerstone of the ExoMars program, a joint effort between ESA and Russia's Roscosmos, which also includes sending a European rover and a Russian surface platform to the planet in 2020. "TGO is now ready for science and at the same time ready for data relay, which we need for the 2020 mission," stated Jan Woerner, ESA Director General, in a press briefing on Thursday. "TGO is a cornerstone of the ExoMars 2016, as well as 2020 missions."[/i]
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