With Russian help, Europe prepares to search for life on Mars

PARIS, July 1:  The European Space Agency signed final contracts with Thales Alenia Space Italy for work on a pair of missions to assess if the planet Mars has or ever had life, officials said at the Paris Airshow this week. Until last year, the ExoMars program was a joint project between ESA and the US space agency NASA. But NASA dropped out, citing budget problems. (AGENCIES)