Thank you for liking
You have already liked this page, you can only like it once!
Artist's view of ESA's Mars Express probe releasing the Beagle 2 lander in its protective thermal shell upon arrival at Mars in 2003.
Mars Express was successfully launched at 17:45:46 UT on 2 June 2003 by a Soyuz FG-Fregat. The Fregat upper stage then boosted the probe, consisting of a 1223-kg orbiter carrying the 71-kg Beagle 2 lander, onto an interplanetary trajectory toward Mars. Mars Express is scheduled to enter orbit around Mars on 26 December 2003.
Carrying seven experiments, the orbiter will conduct a one-martian-year survey of the planet, providing an unprecedented high-resolution and mineralogical mapping. It will also conduct a search for underground waters using a radar able to identify subsurface structures up to 2 km deep. Moreover, a set of payloads will probe the atmosphere, map its composition and determine its circulation as well as its interaction with the solar wind.
The Beagle 2 lander will be released 5 days before orbital capture and will land on Isidis Planitia, near the equator. Once on the surface, it will determine the geology and mineral composition of the site and conduct a search for life signatures.
Europe's first planetary mission, Mars Express was approved in 1997 as ESA's first "Flexible" science mission. Development was delegated to industry, with Astrium appointed as prime contractor in 1998.