Mission To Mars

ESA and its partners launched Mars Express from the Baikonur Cosmodrome in the former Soviet republic of Kazakhstan using a time-tested and reliable Russian Soyuz/Fregat launcher – one of the most important vessels in contemporary space travel.

Mars Express is perched atop a Soyuz-FG booster rocket as it prepares to rocket into orbit. Scientists chose June 2, 2003, as the launch date because it marks the occasion when the shortest route possible will be available between Earth and Mars – a condition that occurs only once every 26 months. The Soyuz booster is supplied by Starsem, which is jointly owned by Arianespace, Aerospatiale, the Russian Aviation and Space Agency, and the Samara Space Center.

In this illustration, Mars Express approaches the Red Planet after a journey time of six months.

This 2001 photo is the sharpest view of Mars ever obtained by an Earth-based telescope. With Mars Express and the Beagle 2 probe, the European Space Agency and partners like the German Space Center hope to get an even closer look.

Three large gas-inflated bags will allow the Beagle 2 to bounce to a safe landing on the surface of Mars. Once the landing is complete, the gas bags will separate from Beagle 2, lowering the clam-shell shaped probe to its final destination.

One of the primary objectives of the Mars Express mission is to determine water exists beneath the planet’s surface. The MARSIS module will use ground-penetrating radar to hunt for water on the red planet. Data collected by MARSIS will also help scientists determine the composition of the top 5 kilometers of Mars’ crust.

Once it lands on Mars, the Beagle 2 lander is expected to continue its work for 180 Martian days, the equivalent of about six earth months. Beagle 2 will transmit photos, analyze rocks and other materials for signs of microbes or other life forms and scan beneath the Mars surface for traces of water. Who knows, maybe they'll even find little green men.

An engineer puts the finishing touches on the Beagle 2 lander. Britain’s Open University, which built the highly complex lander, conducted the leading research into meteorites from Mars that provided the first signs that the planet might be capable of sustaining life forms. In 1996, American engineers at NASA announced their finding of fossilized bacteria on ALH 84001, a meteorite that originated from Mars. The discovery launched a public and scientific obsession over the question of whether there is life on the Red Planet.

Beagle 2 will look for chemical traces of life on Mars. On the Martian surface, the lander will open up to expose five solar panels as the instruments on the robot arm get to work.

During its 250 million kilometer mission, Mars Express is relying heavily on electricity supplied by two massive solar panels to power the many scientific tools it is carrying as payload.

Engineers at the Open University in Milton Keyes, England, began assembling the Beagle 2 lander in summer 2002. The design and construction of Mars Express involved numerous research institutes and 24 companies from 15 European countries and the USA. “We hope that when it arrives on Mars, we will finally be able to answer the eternal question: Is there, or was there, life on Mars," Open University Professor Colin Pillinger recently told Space Daily.

Mars has been a subject of fascination for decades. But this 1976 photo from NASA’s Viking spacecraft spurred speculation that life could exist on the planet. With its “Mars Express” mission, Europe’s leading space agencies are hoping to confirm whether the planet contains water, an element required for any life form.

The Mars Express mission is being controlled from the European Space Operations Center (ESOC) in Darmstadt, Germany. The center controls all of the European Space Agency’s satellites and probes.

On Dec. 19, Beagle 2 separates from the Mars Express and begins its descent towards Mars.

Mars Express passed the halfway mark on its journey in August. During that month, Earth and Mars made their closest approach in more than 60,000 years.

On Dec. 1, Mars Express transmitted its first photograph of the Red Planet. The image was taken using one of Express’ key tools, a High Resolution Stereo Camera developed by the Free University of Berlin and the DLR Institute for Planetary Research, part of Germany’s space program. The camera will take full-color 3D photos of Mars and will also help the Mars Express team pinpoint the location of the Beagle 2 after it lands.

The $350 million Mars Express spacecraft, the European Space Agency’s first interplanetary mission, lifts off for the six-month journey to the Red Planet. Several days before the spacecraft reaches Mars in December, the British-build Beagle 2 lander is set to separate from the vehicle. It will parachute down to the surface of Mars on Christmas Day.

After beginning its descent, Beagle 2 will enter Mars’ atmosphere at a speed of greater than 20,000 kilometers per hour. A heat-resistant shield will protect it as friction with the upper atmosphere slows it down.

Beagle 2 will land on Isidis Planitia, a large, flat sedimentary basin straddling the relatively young northern plains and ancient southern highlands, where traces of life could have been preserved. The site is not too rocky to threaten a safe landing. Isidis Planitia is at a low enough elevation that it should provide enough depth to allow Beagle 2’s parachutes to brake the lander’s descent.

Upon reaching orbit, Mars Express will be propelled to its final destination using the upper stage of the Fregat launcher, which will provide most of the energy needed to propel Mars Express from Earth to Mars. The Fregat upper stage will separate from the spacecraft after placing it on a Mars-bound trajectory.