{"id":15666,"date":"2016-03-11T18:37:14","date_gmt":"2016-03-11T10:37:14","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/wp-productionenv-bjg9h2g2bgg5b8aa.southeastasia-01.azurewebsites.net\/news\/proton-rocket-reaches-launch-pad-with-mars-probe\/"},"modified":"2016-03-11T18:37:14","modified_gmt":"2016-03-11T10:37:14","slug":"proton-rocket-reaches-launch-pad-with-mars-probe","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/starpath.global\/news\/proton-rocket-reaches-launch-pad-with-mars-probe\/","title":{"rendered":"Proton rocket reaches launch pad with Mars probe"},"content":{"rendered":"<p><iframe loading=\"lazy\" width=\"678\" height=\"381\" src=\"https:\/\/www.youtube.com\/embed\/yrZpdIcJiH8?feature=oembed\" frameborder=\"0\" allowfullscreen=\"\"><\/iframe><\/p>\n<p>A Russian Proton rocket rolled out to its launch pad at the Baikonur Cosmodrome in Kazakhstan on Friday, riding a specially-built rail car with Europe\u2019s ExoMars mission bound for the red planet.<\/p>\n<p>The ExoMars spacecraft, comprising a European-built orbiter and lander, is the only mission launching to Mars this year, scheduled for blastoff at 0931:42 GMT (5:31:42 a.m. EDT) Monday.<\/p>\n<p>Once the rocket arrived at Complex 200, Russian technicians used a hydraulic lift to rotate the 191-foot-tall (58-meter) rocket vertical. Mobile servicing platforms moved into place around the rocket for ground crews to complete final preflight checks on the booster.<\/p>\n<p>The Proton spent two days at a fueling barn, where the rocket\u2019s Breeze M upper stage received a mix of hydrazine and nitrogen tetroxide propellants. The Proton rocket\u2019s core booster, made of three stages, will receive its load of hypergolic propellants at the launch pad.<\/p>\n<p>The Proton\/Breeze M combination has never been used to launch a mission to Mars before.<\/p>\n<p>The three-stage Proton rocket will complete its job in less than 10 minutes, deploying the Breeze M upper stage to conduct four main engine firings over 10-and-a-half hours before releasing the European Space Agency\u2019s ExoMars spacecraft at&nbsp;2012 GMT (4:12 p.m. EDT).<\/p>\n<p>Then the ExoMars Trace Gas Orbiter, carrying a camera and instruments to study gases in the Martian atmosphere, will unfurl its solar arrays to start recharging the spacecraft\u2019s battery.<\/p>\n<p>The mission\u2019s interplanetary journey will take more than seven months, with arrival at Mars pegged for Oct. 19.<\/p>\n<p>Three days before reaching its destination, the orbiter and lander modules will separate, with the Schiaparelli descent probe heading for a parachute- and rocket-assisted touchdown on the red planet, aiming for the a flat plain named Meridiani Planum.<\/p>\n<p>Schiaparelli seeks to become Europe\u2019s first probe to successfully land and operate on Mars.<\/p>\n<p>Around the same time, the Trace Gas Orbiter will swing into orbit around Mars, beginning a five-year mission focused on mapping the planet\u2019s surface, searching for water ice deposits, and confirming the presence of methane in the atmosphere, a key indicator of ongoing biological or geological activity.<\/p>\n<p>ESA partnered with Russia on the ExoMars program in 2012, after NASA pulled out of an agreement to provide two Atlas 5 rockets to launch back-to-back ExoMars missions in 2016 and 2018, citing funding constraints.<\/p>\n<p>Russia will now provide Proton launchers for the ExoMars missions \u2014 the 2018 launch will deliver a rover to Mars \u2014 and a stationary surface science platform.<\/p>\n<p>Photos of Friday\u2019s rollout of the Proton rocket are posted below.<\/p>\n<figure id=\"attachment_13304\" aria-describedby=\"caption-attachment-13304\" style=\"width: 620px\" class=\"wp-caption alignnone\"><img fetchpriority=\"high\" decoding=\"async\" class=\" wp-image-13304\" src=\"http:\/\/spaceflightnow.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2016\/03\/25393485890_bfc93b5121_z.jpg\" alt=\"Photo credit: ESA-Stephane Corvaja\" width=\"620\" height=\"413\" srcset=\"https:\/\/spaceflightnow.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2016\/03\/25393485890_bfc93b5121_z.jpg 640w, https:\/\/spaceflightnow.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2016\/03\/25393485890_bfc93b5121_z-300x200.jpg 300w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 620px) 100vw, 620px\"><figcaption id=\"caption-attachment-13304\" class=\"wp-caption-text\">Photo credit: ESA-Stephane Corvaja<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<figure id=\"attachment_13308\" aria-describedby=\"caption-attachment-13308\" style=\"width: 621px\" class=\"wp-caption alignnone\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\" wp-image-13308\" src=\"http:\/\/spaceflightnow.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2016\/03\/2228317554.jpg\" alt=\"Photo credit: Roscosmos\" width=\"621\" height=\"414\" srcset=\"https:\/\/spaceflightnow.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2016\/03\/2228317554.jpg 940w, https:\/\/spaceflightnow.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2016\/03\/2228317554-300x200.jpg 300w, https:\/\/spaceflightnow.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2016\/03\/2228317554-768x512.jpg 768w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 621px) 100vw, 621px\"><figcaption id=\"caption-attachment-13308\" class=\"wp-caption-text\">Photo credit: Roscosmos<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<figure id=\"attachment_13309\" aria-describedby=\"caption-attachment-13309\" style=\"width: 621px\" class=\"wp-caption alignnone\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\" wp-image-13309\" src=\"http:\/\/spaceflightnow.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2016\/03\/3956071964.jpg\" alt=\"Photo credit: Roscosmos\" width=\"621\" height=\"414\" srcset=\"https:\/\/spaceflightnow.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2016\/03\/3956071964.jpg 940w, https:\/\/spaceflightnow.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2016\/03\/3956071964-300x200.jpg 300w, https:\/\/spaceflightnow.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2016\/03\/3956071964-768x512.jpg 768w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 621px) 100vw, 621px\"><figcaption id=\"caption-attachment-13309\" class=\"wp-caption-text\">Photo credit: Roscosmos<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<figure id=\"attachment_13312\" aria-describedby=\"caption-attachment-13312\" style=\"width: 621px\" class=\"wp-caption alignnone\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\" wp-image-13312\" src=\"http:\/\/spaceflightnow.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2016\/03\/2792779425.jpg\" alt=\"Photo credit: Roscosmos\" width=\"621\" height=\"414\" srcset=\"https:\/\/spaceflightnow.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2016\/03\/2792779425.jpg 940w, https:\/\/spaceflightnow.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2016\/03\/2792779425-300x200.jpg 300w, https:\/\/spaceflightnow.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2016\/03\/2792779425-768x512.jpg 768w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 621px) 100vw, 621px\"><figcaption id=\"caption-attachment-13312\" class=\"wp-caption-text\">Photo credit: Roscosmos<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<figure id=\"attachment_13310\" aria-describedby=\"caption-attachment-13310\" style=\"width: 621px\" class=\"wp-caption alignnone\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\" wp-image-13310\" src=\"http:\/\/spaceflightnow.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2016\/03\/3359845655.jpg\" alt=\"Photo credit: Roscosmos\" width=\"621\" height=\"414\" srcset=\"https:\/\/spaceflightnow.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2016\/03\/3359845655.jpg 940w, https:\/\/spaceflightnow.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2016\/03\/3359845655-300x200.jpg 300w, https:\/\/spaceflightnow.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2016\/03\/3359845655-768x512.jpg 768w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 621px) 100vw, 621px\"><figcaption id=\"caption-attachment-13310\" class=\"wp-caption-text\">Photo credit: Roscosmos<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<figure id=\"attachment_13311\" aria-describedby=\"caption-attachment-13311\" style=\"width: 621px\" class=\"wp-caption alignnone\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\" wp-image-13311\" src=\"http:\/\/spaceflightnow.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2016\/03\/2716690776.jpg\" alt=\"Photo credit: Roscosmos\" width=\"621\" height=\"414\" srcset=\"https:\/\/spaceflightnow.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2016\/03\/2716690776.jpg 940w, https:\/\/spaceflightnow.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2016\/03\/2716690776-300x200.jpg 300w, https:\/\/spaceflightnow.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2016\/03\/2716690776-768x512.jpg 768w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 621px) 100vw, 621px\"><figcaption id=\"caption-attachment-13311\" class=\"wp-caption-text\">Photo credit: Roscosmos<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<figure id=\"attachment_13313\" aria-describedby=\"caption-attachment-13313\" style=\"width: 620px\" class=\"wp-caption alignnone\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\" wp-image-13313\" src=\"http:\/\/spaceflightnow.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2016\/03\/25575628802_4dd020c521_z.jpg\" alt=\"Photo credit: ESA-Stephane Corvaja \" width=\"620\" height=\"413\" srcset=\"https:\/\/spaceflightnow.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2016\/03\/25575628802_4dd020c521_z.jpg 640w, https:\/\/spaceflightnow.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2016\/03\/25575628802_4dd020c521_z-300x200.jpg 300w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 620px) 100vw, 620px\"><figcaption id=\"caption-attachment-13313\" class=\"wp-caption-text\">Photo credit: ESA-Stephane Corvaja<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<figure id=\"attachment_13314\" aria-describedby=\"caption-attachment-13314\" style=\"width: 621px\" class=\"wp-caption alignnone\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\" wp-image-13314\" src=\"http:\/\/spaceflightnow.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2016\/03\/1201851942.jpg\" alt=\"Photo credit: Roscosmos\" width=\"621\" height=\"414\" srcset=\"https:\/\/spaceflightnow.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2016\/03\/1201851942.jpg 940w, https:\/\/spaceflightnow.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2016\/03\/1201851942-300x200.jpg 300w, https:\/\/spaceflightnow.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2016\/03\/1201851942-768x512.jpg 768w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 621px) 100vw, 621px\"><figcaption id=\"caption-attachment-13314\" class=\"wp-caption-text\">Photo credit: Roscosmos<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<figure id=\"attachment_13315\" aria-describedby=\"caption-attachment-13315\" style=\"width: 620px\" class=\"wp-caption alignnone\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\" wp-image-13315\" src=\"http:\/\/spaceflightnow.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2016\/03\/25601633781_928ffd5a0e_z.jpg\" alt=\"Photo credit: ESA-Stephane Corvaja\" width=\"620\" height=\"413\" srcset=\"https:\/\/spaceflightnow.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2016\/03\/25601633781_928ffd5a0e_z.jpg 640w, https:\/\/spaceflightnow.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2016\/03\/25601633781_928ffd5a0e_z-300x200.jpg 300w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 620px) 100vw, 620px\"><figcaption id=\"caption-attachment-13315\" class=\"wp-caption-text\">Photo credit: ESA-Stephane Corvaja<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<figure id=\"attachment_13316\" aria-describedby=\"caption-attachment-13316\" style=\"width: 620px\" class=\"wp-caption alignnone\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\" wp-image-13316\" src=\"http:\/\/spaceflightnow.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2016\/03\/25067592973_da9fe9494d_z.jpg\" alt=\"Photo credit: ESA-Stephane Corvaja\" width=\"620\" height=\"303\" srcset=\"https:\/\/spaceflightnow.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2016\/03\/25067592973_da9fe9494d_z.jpg 640w, https:\/\/spaceflightnow.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2016\/03\/25067592973_da9fe9494d_z-300x147.jpg 300w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 620px) 100vw, 620px\"><figcaption id=\"caption-attachment-13316\" class=\"wp-caption-text\">Photo credit: ESA-Stephane Corvaja<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<figure id=\"attachment_13317\" aria-describedby=\"caption-attachment-13317\" style=\"width: 620px\" class=\"wp-caption alignnone\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\" wp-image-13317\" src=\"http:\/\/spaceflightnow.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2016\/03\/25393482820_28c00e352f_z.jpg\" alt=\"Photo credit: ESA-Stephane Corvaja\" width=\"620\" height=\"413\" srcset=\"https:\/\/spaceflightnow.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2016\/03\/25393482820_28c00e352f_z.jpg 640w, https:\/\/spaceflightnow.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2016\/03\/25393482820_28c00e352f_z-300x200.jpg 300w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 620px) 100vw, 620px\"><figcaption id=\"caption-attachment-13317\" class=\"wp-caption-text\">Photo credit: ESA-Stephane Corvaja<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<figure id=\"attachment_13318\" aria-describedby=\"caption-attachment-13318\" style=\"width: 621px\" class=\"wp-caption alignnone\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\" wp-image-13318\" src=\"http:\/\/spaceflightnow.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2016\/03\/25601631291_d3ed5042d6_z.jpg\" alt=\"Photo credit: ESA-Stephane Corvaja\" width=\"621\" height=\"414\" srcset=\"https:\/\/spaceflightnow.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2016\/03\/25601631291_d3ed5042d6_z.jpg 640w, https:\/\/spaceflightnow.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2016\/03\/25601631291_d3ed5042d6_z-300x200.jpg 300w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 621px) 100vw, 621px\"><figcaption id=\"caption-attachment-13318\" class=\"wp-caption-text\">Photo credit: ESA-Stephane Corvaja<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<figure id=\"attachment_13319\" aria-describedby=\"caption-attachment-13319\" style=\"width: 621px\" class=\"wp-caption alignnone\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\" wp-image-13319\" src=\"http:\/\/spaceflightnow.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2016\/03\/509691201.jpg\" alt=\"Photo credit: ESA-Stephane Corvaja\" width=\"621\" height=\"414\" srcset=\"https:\/\/spaceflightnow.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2016\/03\/509691201.jpg 940w, https:\/\/spaceflightnow.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2016\/03\/509691201-300x200.jpg 300w, https:\/\/spaceflightnow.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2016\/03\/509691201-768x512.jpg 768w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 621px) 100vw, 621px\"><figcaption id=\"caption-attachment-13319\" class=\"wp-caption-text\">Photo credit: Roscosmos<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<figure id=\"attachment_13320\" aria-describedby=\"caption-attachment-13320\" style=\"width: 621px\" class=\"wp-caption alignnone\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\" wp-image-13320\" src=\"http:\/\/spaceflightnow.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2016\/03\/3810136244.jpg\" alt=\"Photo credit: Roscosmos\" width=\"621\" height=\"414\" srcset=\"https:\/\/spaceflightnow.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2016\/03\/3810136244.jpg 940w, https:\/\/spaceflightnow.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2016\/03\/3810136244-300x200.jpg 300w, https:\/\/spaceflightnow.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2016\/03\/3810136244-768x512.jpg 768w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 621px) 100vw, 621px\"><figcaption id=\"caption-attachment-13320\" class=\"wp-caption-text\">Photo credit: Roscosmos<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<figure id=\"attachment_13321\" aria-describedby=\"caption-attachment-13321\" style=\"width: 620px\" class=\"wp-caption alignnone\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"size-full wp-image-13321\" src=\"http:\/\/spaceflightnow.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2016\/03\/1292041692.jpg\" alt=\"Photo credit: Roscosmos\" width=\"620\" height=\"930\" srcset=\"https:\/\/spaceflightnow.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2016\/03\/1292041692.jpg 620w, https:\/\/spaceflightnow.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2016\/03\/1292041692-200x300.jpg 200w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 620px) 100vw, 620px\"><figcaption id=\"caption-attachment-13321\" class=\"wp-caption-text\">Photo credit: Roscosmos<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<figure id=\"attachment_13322\" aria-describedby=\"caption-attachment-13322\" style=\"width: 620px\" class=\"wp-caption alignnone\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"size-full wp-image-13322\" src=\"http:\/\/spaceflightnow.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2016\/03\/25575627532_8c519f0323_k.jpg\" alt=\"Photo credit: ESA-Stephane Corvaja\" width=\"620\" height=\"932\" srcset=\"https:\/\/spaceflightnow.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2016\/03\/25575627532_8c519f0323_k.jpg 620w, https:\/\/spaceflightnow.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2016\/03\/25575627532_8c519f0323_k-200x300.jpg 200w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 620px) 100vw, 620px\"><figcaption id=\"caption-attachment-13322\" class=\"wp-caption-text\">Photo credit: ESA-Stephane Corvaja<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<figure id=\"attachment_13323\" aria-describedby=\"caption-attachment-13323\" style=\"width: 620px\" class=\"wp-caption alignnone\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"size-full wp-image-13323\" src=\"http:\/\/spaceflightnow.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2016\/03\/25575626522_c9d7c5439e_k.jpg\" alt=\"Photo credit: ESA-Stephane Corvaja\" width=\"620\" height=\"932\" srcset=\"https:\/\/spaceflightnow.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2016\/03\/25575626522_c9d7c5439e_k.jpg 620w, https:\/\/spaceflightnow.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2016\/03\/25575626522_c9d7c5439e_k-200x300.jpg 200w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 620px) 100vw, 620px\"><figcaption id=\"caption-attachment-13323\" class=\"wp-caption-text\">Photo credit: ESA-Stephane Corvaja<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<figure id=\"attachment_13324\" aria-describedby=\"caption-attachment-13324\" style=\"width: 620px\" class=\"wp-caption alignnone\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"size-full wp-image-13324\" src=\"http:\/\/spaceflightnow.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2016\/03\/3278690630.jpg\" alt=\"Photo credit: Roscosmos\" width=\"620\" height=\"930\" srcset=\"https:\/\/spaceflightnow.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2016\/03\/3278690630.jpg 620w, https:\/\/spaceflightnow.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2016\/03\/3278690630-200x300.jpg 200w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 620px) 100vw, 620px\"><figcaption id=\"caption-attachment-13324\" class=\"wp-caption-text\">Photo credit: Roscosmos<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<figure id=\"attachment_13325\" aria-describedby=\"caption-attachment-13325\" style=\"width: 621px\" class=\"wp-caption alignnone\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\" wp-image-13325\" src=\"http:\/\/spaceflightnow.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2016\/03\/3793598221.jpg\" alt=\"Photo credit: Roscosmos\" width=\"621\" height=\"414\" srcset=\"https:\/\/spaceflightnow.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2016\/03\/3793598221.jpg 940w, https:\/\/spaceflightnow.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2016\/03\/3793598221-300x200.jpg 300w, https:\/\/spaceflightnow.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2016\/03\/3793598221-768x512.jpg 768w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 621px) 100vw, 621px\"><figcaption id=\"caption-attachment-13325\" class=\"wp-caption-text\">Photo credit: Roscosmos<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<figure id=\"attachment_13326\" aria-describedby=\"caption-attachment-13326\" style=\"width: 620px\" class=\"wp-caption alignnone\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\" wp-image-13326\" src=\"http:\/\/spaceflightnow.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2016\/03\/25575627092_a52b341829_z.jpg\" alt=\"Photo credit: ESA-Stephane Corvaja\" width=\"620\" height=\"413\" srcset=\"https:\/\/spaceflightnow.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2016\/03\/25575627092_a52b341829_z.jpg 640w, https:\/\/spaceflightnow.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2016\/03\/25575627092_a52b341829_z-300x200.jpg 300w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 620px) 100vw, 620px\"><figcaption id=\"caption-attachment-13326\" class=\"wp-caption-text\">Photo credit: ESA-Stephane Corvaja<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<figure id=\"attachment_13327\" aria-describedby=\"caption-attachment-13327\" style=\"width: 621px\" class=\"wp-caption alignnone\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\" wp-image-13327\" src=\"http:\/\/spaceflightnow.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2016\/03\/25694325835_22d9ac6fef_z.jpg\" alt=\"Photo credit: ESA-Stephane Corvaja\" width=\"621\" height=\"414\" srcset=\"https:\/\/spaceflightnow.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2016\/03\/25694325835_22d9ac6fef_z.jpg 640w, https:\/\/spaceflightnow.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2016\/03\/25694325835_22d9ac6fef_z-300x200.jpg 300w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 621px) 100vw, 621px\"><figcaption id=\"caption-attachment-13327\" class=\"wp-caption-text\">Photo credit: ESA-Stephane Corvaja<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<figure id=\"attachment_13328\" aria-describedby=\"caption-attachment-13328\" style=\"width: 621px\" class=\"wp-caption alignnone\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\" wp-image-13328\" src=\"http:\/\/spaceflightnow.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2016\/03\/1846370286.jpg\" alt=\"Photo credit: Roscosmos\" width=\"621\" height=\"414\" srcset=\"https:\/\/spaceflightnow.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2016\/03\/1846370286.jpg 940w, https:\/\/spaceflightnow.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2016\/03\/1846370286-300x200.jpg 300w, https:\/\/spaceflightnow.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2016\/03\/1846370286-768x512.jpg 768w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 621px) 100vw, 621px\"><figcaption id=\"caption-attachment-13328\" class=\"wp-caption-text\">Photo credit: Roscosmos<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<figure id=\"attachment_13329\" aria-describedby=\"caption-attachment-13329\" style=\"width: 620px\" class=\"wp-caption alignnone\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"size-full wp-image-13329\" src=\"http:\/\/spaceflightnow.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2016\/03\/3484537055.jpg\" alt=\"Photo credit: Roscosmos\" width=\"620\" height=\"930\" srcset=\"https:\/\/spaceflightnow.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2016\/03\/3484537055.jpg 620w, https:\/\/spaceflightnow.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2016\/03\/3484537055-200x300.jpg 200w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 620px) 100vw, 620px\"><figcaption id=\"caption-attachment-13329\" class=\"wp-caption-text\">Photo credit: Roscosmos<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<figure id=\"attachment_13330\" aria-describedby=\"caption-attachment-13330\" style=\"width: 620px\" class=\"wp-caption alignnone\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"size-full wp-image-13330\" src=\"http:\/\/spaceflightnow.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2016\/03\/599256915.jpg\" alt=\"Photo credit: Roscosmos\" width=\"620\" height=\"930\" srcset=\"https:\/\/spaceflightnow.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2016\/03\/599256915.jpg 620w, https:\/\/spaceflightnow.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2016\/03\/599256915-200x300.jpg 200w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 620px) 100vw, 620px\"><figcaption id=\"caption-attachment-13330\" class=\"wp-caption-text\">Photo credit: Roscosmos<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<p><b><i>Email the author.<\/i><\/b><\/p>\n<p><em><strong>Follow Stephen Clark on Twitter: @StephenClark1.<\/strong><\/em><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>A Russian Proton rocket rolled out to its launch pad at the Baikonur Cosmodrome in Kazakhstan on Friday, riding a specially-built rail car with Europe\u2019s ExoMars mission bound for the red planet. The ExoMars spacecraft, comprising a European-built orbiter and lander, is the only mission launching to Mars this year, scheduled for blastoff at 0931:42 [&hellip;]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"inline_featured_image":false,"footnotes":"","_links_to":"","_links_to_target":""},"categories":[2],"tags":[1601,1968,831,2297,3022,1969,367,2110],"class_list":["post-15666","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-news","tag-baikonur-cosmodrome","tag-breeze-m","tag-european-space-agency","tag-exomars","tag-exomars-2016","tag-khrunichev","tag-mars","tag-proton"],"acf":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/starpath.global\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/15666"}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/starpath.global\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/starpath.global\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/starpath.global\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/starpath.global\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=15666"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/starpath.global\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/15666\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/starpath.global\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=15666"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/starpath.global\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=15666"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/starpath.global\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=15666"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}