After a journey of nearly seven months, ESA's Mars Express will reach its destination on Christmas eve. Seven scientific instruments onboard Europe's Martian satellite will then perform a series of remote sensing experiments designed to shed new light on a planet named after roman god of war.

Mars Express - Search for Water and Life on Mars
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After a journey of nearly seven months, ESA's Mars Express will reach its destination on Christmas eve. Seven scientific instruments onboard Europe's Martian satellite will then perform a series of remote sensing experiments designed to shed new light on a planet named after roman god of war. Mars Express will circle the red planet once every 6.7 hours in an elliptic orbit with a high point of more than11000 kilometres. It will use 3 D imagery to discover more about the surface and geology of Mars. Using radar beams, its instruments will penetrate beneath the surface, searching for underground water or waterice.It will also analyse and determine the atmospheric circulation and composition to build an accurate picture of Martian meteorology and climate.
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The Scientist Jean-Pierre Bibring of the French Institute for Space Astrophysics near Paris developed OMEGA, a spectrometer, which will analyse the Martian Atmosphere and surface.
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