Today, at Baikonur Cosmodrome, the Proton-M / Breeze-M Integrated Launch Vehicle (ILV)  rolled out to the launch pad. On board, the ILV carries two spacecraft of the Russian-European ExoMars-2016 mission: the Schiaparelli landing demonstrator, and the Trace Gas Orbiter.

Prior to the rollout, the ILV had spent two days in the fueling area where the Breeze-M Upper Stage low-pressure tanks were being filled with propellant components.

Currently, Proton-M  ILV is erected on the launch pad within Area 200. Launch crews from an assortment of space industry entities have already proceeded with processing activities as per Day 1 Launch Operations Schedule.

The launch of Proton-M  / Breeze-M Upper Stage carrying two scientific research satellites under the Russian-European ExoMars-2016 mission is scheduled for 14 March 2016 at 12h 31min msk. This will be the second launch of the Russian heavy-lift Proton in 2016.

The Proton and the Breeze-M upper stage were designed, and are serially manufactured, by the Khrunichev Space Center. Outfitted with the Breeze-M Upper Stage, the modernized Proton-M is capable of providing a geo-transfer injection for payloads with a mass in excess of 6MT. 

ExoMars is a joint project of the Roscosmos State Corporation and the European Space Agency (ЕSA). The Trace Gas Orbiter will study small quantities of gas impurities in the atmosphere and distribution of water ice in the soil of Mars using also Russian scientific equipment designed at the Institute for Space Research of the Russian Academy of Sciences. The orbital module will also retransmit data from the descent demonstrator module of the 2016 mission, and from the descent module and Mars rover vehicle of the 2018 mission.

The Schiaparelli landing demonstrator is intended for verifying viability of the procedures required for entering the atmosphere, descending, landing, and carrying out research using onboard scientific equipment.