Live coverage: ExoMars orbiter steers into orbit around Mars, lander’s fate TBD

The European Space Agency’s LISA Pathfinder spacecraft, destined to test the concept of gravitational wave detection a million miles from Earth, is nearly ready for launch Dec. 2.

An Ariane 5 rocket took off from French Guiana Friday with the heaviest interplanetary science probe ever launched, kicking off a $1.7 billion European Space Agency mission on a decade-long quest to Jupiter’s icy moons in search of environments that could be habitable for life.

A United Launch Alliance Atlas 5 rocket took off Saturday from California with the InSight spacecraft heading for Mars.