In search of methane’s source in the Martian atmosphere, Russia and Europe will launch a joint mission to the fourth planet from the sun in near future. Under the ESA and Russian Space Agency’s (Roscosmos) plan, a Proton rocket will be lifted off towards Mars to check the source of methane in the planet’s atmosphere.

The mission’s major objective will be to figure out whether the methane gas is coming from a geological source or microbes are behind it. If everything goes as per the plan, Russia and Europe will also land a rover on the Red Planet to drill the surface. The rover will be assembled in the United Kingdom and the agencies may launch that mission in 2018, or in 2020.

The latest mission, dubbed ExoMars mission, is scheduled to be launched from Kazakhstan’s Baikonur Cosmodrome on March 14. Space enthusiasts can watch the launch live at the website of European Space Agency (ESA).

The carrier spacecraft will take about 10 hours to put the satellite on the right trajectory to go to the Red Planet. Russian Federal Space Agency (Roscosmos) and ESA’s ExoMars mission consists of two missions. After the 2016 mission, the two space powers will launch the second mission in 2018. The 2016 launched TGO spacecraft will act as a communication link between the rover and agencies on earth.

The mission is going to strain the nerves of ESA and Roscosmos space scientists as it presents many unique challenges. For Russia, especially previous missions to Mars, are not the memorable ones.

Previously, Roscosmos launched about 19 missions to the Red Planet, and most of them ended in failure. Some of them get off the pad cleanly, while others stalled above our own planet or crashed and got damaged while touching upon Martian surface.