European lander released to begin final descent to Mars

In this artist impression provided by the European Space Agency, ESA, the ExoMars Trace Gas Orbiter , TGO, right, and its entry, descent and landing demonstrator module, Schiaparelli, center, approaching Mars. The separation is scheduled to occur on Sunday Oct. 16, 2016, about seven months after launch. Schiaparelli is set to enter the martian atmosphere on Oct. 19, 2016 while TGO will enter orbit around Mars. The probe will take images of Mars and conduct scientific measurements on the surface, but its main purpose is to test technology for a future European Mars rover. Schiaparelli’s mother ship will remain in orbit to analyze gases in the Martian atmosphere to help answer whether there is or was life on Mars. (ESA ATG/medialab via AP)

BERLIN (AP) — The European Space Agency has dispatched an experimental probe on the final leg of its quest to land on Mars — part of a mission aimed at exploring the red planet’s atmosphere and searching for signs of life.

ESA said the Schiaparelli lander separated from its mother ship as scheduled Sunday, preparing the way for a controlled descent to the surface on Wednesday.

Schiaparelli will take images of Mars and conduct scientific measurements on the surface, but its main purpose is to test technology for a future European Mars rover.

ESA’s last attempted Mars landing with the Beagle 2 rover failed in 2003.

Schiaparelli’s mother ship will remain in orbit to analyze gases in the atmosphere.

The ExoMars mission is a joint venture between ESA and Russia’s Roscosmos space agency.