A joint European and Russian mission to Mars has successfully taken off this morning.
The mission aims to both search for methane in the Martian atmosphere and demonstrates a landing on the surface, in preparation for landing a rover in the future.
The collaboration between the two space agencies came about after NASA pulled out in 2012 due to funding issues. This lead to the use of the Russian heavy-lift Proton launch vehicle.
If all goes well over the next few hours the rocket will carry out further burns to put the satellite on the right trajectory for its seven-month journey to Mars.
Image: ESA