Nasa and the European Space Agency (ESA) have selected five science instruments for the first joint mission to explore Mars.
The two agencies intend to carry out two Mars cooperative missions in 2016 and 2018, and a later joint sample return mission.
The selection of the instruments begins the first phase of the new Nasa-ESA alliance for future ventures to Mars.
The instruments include a Mars atmosphere trace molecule occultation spectrometer, a high-resolution solar occultation and nadir spectrometer, and an ExoMars climate sounder.
A high-resolution colour stereo imager and a Mars atmospheric global imaging experiment are the other two instruments selected for the missions.
The 2016 mission will feature the ExoMars trace gas orbiter, a European-built small lander demonstrator, a primarily-US international science payload and Nasa-provided launch vehicle and communications components.
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By GlobalDataThe 2018 mission will comprise a European rover with a drilling capability, a Nasa rover capable of caching samples for potential future return to Earth, a Nasa landing system and a Nasa launch vehicle.