Mars Express arrives in Baikonur
In June, the first joint fully European spacecraft is scheduled to take off for Mars.
Just five days prior to reaching Mars, the orbiter will jettison the Beagle 2 lander
The spacecraft container, accompanied by the smaller one for the Beagle 2 lander, arrives at the transport aircraft.
The payload first enters the Payload Preparation Facility clean room, where final assembly is performed along with functional tests.
Mars Express will set off from the Baikonur lanch pad at the beginning of June on a Soyuz-Fregat launcher, arriving at Mars between Christmas 2003 and New Years Eve.
ITW Rudolf Schmidt (German)
ITW Rudolf Schmidt (English)
Mars Express animations
Mars Express loading
Mars Express in the lab
Mars Express loading in Baikonur

Mars Express arrives in Baikonur
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The Red Planet has always fascinated Earthlings. Mars is currently the only planet in the solar system on which there is a possibility of finding life ? past or present. The surface looks hostile, with spectacular mountains and canyons three times as deep and five times as long as the Grand Canyon.
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In June, the first joint fully European spacecraft is scheduled to take off for Mars. After a six-month interplanetary cruise, ?Mars Express? should arrive at the planet?s doorstep in late 2003. Just five days prior to reaching Mars, the orbiter will jettison the Beagle 2 lander, named after Charles Darwin?s famous ship.
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The lander will pass through the Martian atmosphere on its way to the surface in around ten minutes. On the landing site it will take measurements of rocks and soil and, like any tourist visiting a new destination, Beagle 2 will take photographs and collect data and then transmit the data back to the orbiter