This article is from the source 'bbc' and was first published or seen on . It last changed over 40 days ago and won't be checked again for changes.

You can find the current article at its original source at http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/science-environment-37707776

The article has changed 10 times. There is an RSS feed of changes available.

Version 1 Version 2
No signal from European Schiaparelli Mars lander Wait continues for European Schiaparelli Mars lander
(about 1 hour later)
The European Space Agency is still waiting for confirmation that its Schiaparelli probe has landed on Mars. There is still no word on the fate of the European Space Agency's Mars lander, Schiaparelli.
The saucer-shaped robot was supposed to have touched down on the Red Planet just before 1500 GMT (1600 BST). The robot was supposed to have touched down on the Red Planet at 1458 GMT (1558 BST), but radio contact was lost in the minute before this time.
A radio transmission that should have allowed scientists to follow the probe to the surface was not received. It was hoped that a satellite at Mars might have tracked the full descent, but it was unable to add any further insight.
Controllers hope that satellites in orbit at Mars will have detected it and will shortly be able to confirm that the probe got down safely. This will likely stoke fears that Schiaparelli has been lost.
But the European Space Agency (Esa) will not be rushed to judgement.
It will wait on further information from yet more satellites at the Red Planet.
They may have detected something missed by the first orbiter, known as Mars Express.
Esa does have something to celebrate now, however. It has received confirmation from Schiaparelli's "mothership", the Trace Gas Orbiter, that it has successfully parked itself above the planet.
In the coming years, this spacecraft will study the atmosphere of Earth's near neighbour.
Landing on Mars is always a daunting prospect.Landing on Mars is always a daunting prospect.
It is a high-speed approach that has to be got just right or the spacecraft runs the risk of crashing into the ground.It is a high-speed approach that has to be got just right or the spacecraft runs the risk of crashing into the ground.
Schiaparelli had a heatshield, a parachute and rocket thrusters to try to get itself to the surface intact.Schiaparelli had a heatshield, a parachute and rocket thrusters to try to get itself to the surface intact.
The European Space Agency will not be rushed to judgement on whether this mission has been a success or a failure. If Schiaparelli is later confirmed as lost, it will be a major blow to Esa which suffered the disappointment of the Beagle-2 lander's failure at Mars in 2003.
It will wait on the reports of the satellites. Both European and American orbiters were tasked with tracking the event. That mission got down to the surface intact, but stopped working within minutes of its arrival.
If Schiaparelli is later confirmed as down and safe, it will spend the next few days making measurements of the Martian environment and current weather conditions - at least until its batteries run out. Schiaparelli was conceived largely as a technology demonstrator - a project to give Europe the confidence to try to land a more ambitious six-wheeled rover on Mars in 2021.
The science return may seem limited, but the probe was largely conceived as a technology demonstrator - a project to give Esa scientists and engineers the confidence to try to land a more ambitious six-wheeled rover on Mars in 2021. This future vehicle was expected to use some of the same landing technology as Schiaparelli, including its doppler radar to sense distance to the surface, and its guidance, navigation and control algorithms.
This future vehicle will drill below the surface of the planet in a number of locations to search for the presence of microbial organisms.
Jonathan.Amos-INTERNET@bbc.co.uk and follow me on Twitter: @BBCAmosJonathan.Amos-INTERNET@bbc.co.uk and follow me on Twitter: @BBCAmos