Posted: Wed, Mar 26, 2003, 10:33 PM ET (0333 GMT)
The European Space Agency announced this week that it has started planning a Mars spacecraft for late this decade that would look for evidence of life there. The ExoMars mission, scheduled for launch in 2009, will include a lander with a "high-mobility" rover carrying a drill and sampling system. The rover will carry a scientific package called Pasteur that will include experiments to look for past or present life on Mars. ESA is currently accepting proposals for the Pasteur experiment package. Final approval for the ExoMars mission will not come until the next ESA Ministerial Conference in late 2004.

Related Links:

•  ESA press release
•  BBC article
•  AP article