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| | | | | | | | | Preparing for orbital manoeuvre | |
Major Mars Express scheduled orbit change successful
30 December 2003
This morning, at 09:00 CET, the first European mission to Mars registered
another operational success. The Mars Express flight control team at ESOC
prepared and executed another critical manoeuvre, bringing the spacecraft
from an equatorial orbit into a polar orbit around Mars.
All commands were transmitted to Mars Express via ESA's new Deep Space
Station in New Norcia, Australia. This morning, the main engine of Mars
Express was fired for four minutes to turn the spacecraft into a new
direction, at a distance of 188 000 kilometres from Mars and about 160
million kilometres from Earth. On 4 January 2004, this new polar orbit will
be reduced even further.
| | ESA's Mars Express from equatorial to polar orbit on 30 December | |
Fascinating ESA science mission ahead
In a polar orbit, Mars Express can now start to prepare its scientific
observation mission as planned, working much like an 'Earth-observation
satellite' but around Mars. From the second half of January 2004, the
orbiter's instruments will be able to scan the atmosphere, the surface and
parts of the subsurface structure of Mars with unmatched precision.
The MARSIS radar, for example, will be able to scan as far as four
kilometres below the surface, looking for underground water or ice. The High
Resolution Stereo Camera will take high-precision pictures of the planet and
will begin a comprehensive 3D cartography of Mars. Also, several
spectrometers will try to unveil the mysteries of Martian mineralogy and the
atmosphere, as well as influences from the solar wind or seasonal changes.
| | Upcoming Mars Express flight orbits until 7 January | |
Mars Express closes in on Beagle 2 landing area
The change of orbit by the Mars Express orbiter will allow increasingly
closer looks at the Beagle 2 landing site, which measures 31 kilometres by 5
kilometres. In this narrowing polar orbit, the orbiter will fly directly
over the landing site at an altitude of 315 kilometres on 7 January 2004, at
13:13 CET. The reduced distance, the ideal angle of overflight and
originally foreseen communication interfaces between the 'mother' and 'baby'
will increase the probability of catching signals from the ground.
Ongoing European co-operation and international support
The Mars Express flight control team of ESA in Darmstadt, Germany, is in
regular contact with its colleagues of the Beagle 2 team and with NASA
ground stations. In addition, ESA receives regular support or offers of
support from the Jodrell Bank radio telescope in the UK, Westerborg
telescope in the Netherlands, Effelsberg telescope in Germany and Stanford
University's telescope in the USA. ESA is grateful for this spirit of
dynamic international co-operation on its first mission to Mars.
Next status report on the Mars Express mission
Comprehensive information is available on ESA'S Mars special pages at http://mars.esa.int
or via the telephone info box on: 0049 6151 90 2609.
In the case of
major news on the mission, the media will be informed immediately.
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| | Looking at Mars  More about... Mars Express mission factsRelated links Beagle 2 lander homepage
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