Europe loses contact with its Mars lander during descent
European Space Agency said it lost contact with its ExoMars 2016 mission's landing module and is "uncertain" if the module landed on Mars in working condition. Scheduled to land on October 19, the 577-kg lander began its descent on October 16, after separating from its mothership "Trace Gas Orbiter", which has successfully launched itself into an elliptical orbit around Mars.