All was well as the European Space Agency’s robotic explorer Schiaparelli closed in on its Mars landing on Wednesday.

Data coming back to Earth showed that the robotic lander entered the Martian atmosphere as expected. Its parachute opened to slow its descent.

And then it went silent as the lander’s signal stopped.

At the point that Schiaparelli, which was launched with the ExoMars Trace Gas Orbiter on March 14, should have been about to touch down on the Martian surface, it was lost.

The European Space Agency (ESA) also isn’t receiving any landing data from an array of telescopes or a Mars orbiter.

Scientists at the ESA, however, aren’t yet calling this a loss.

To read this article in full or to leave a comment, please click here