Russian and European space officials on Friday agreed on a joint Mars mission to hunt for signs of life on the Red Planet, after NASA pulled the plug on its program, the Russian Federal Space Agency (Roscosmos) said on April 6.

NASA has decided it will be unable to continue a joint endeavor with the European Space Agency (ESA) on the ExoMars mission.

The European Space Agency (ESA) has formally invited Russia to participate in a pair of space missions, dubbed ExoMars, in 2016 and 2018.

After an eight-month voyage to Mars, Curiosity will land at the foot of a 3 mile high mountain in a crater named "Gale."

NASA and the European Space Agency’s plans to have a joint mission to Mars faced another snag this week.