Proton-M Briz-M | ExoMars Trace Gas Orbiter & EDM Schiaparelli lander

This is the first part of ESA’s and Roscosmos’s Mars exploration programme (ExoMars). The launch in the 2016 Mars window will consist of an orbiter and lander and will take 7 months to travel to Mars. The Trace Gas Orbiter will search for trace gases in the atmosphere such as methane and hydrogen. The Schiaparelli lander will travel with the orbiter until each reaches Mars, where it will attempt to descend through the atmosphere and land on the surface. The lander only contains a small array of scientific instruments, to conduct experiments over 4 Martian days.

Khrunichev State Research and Production Space Center is a Moscow-based producer of spacecraft and space-launch systems, including the Proton and Rokot rockets and is currently developing the Angara rocket family. The Proton launch vehicle launches from Baikonur and Rokot launches from Baikonur and Plesetsk. Angara will launch from Plesetsk and Vostochny.