Mars - Mars Express

The Mars Express mission is the first mission to Mars by the European Space Agency (ESA). It was timed to put the spacecraft in flight near the time of Mars' perihelic opposition.

In June 2003 the spacecraft was launched toward Mars from the Baikonur launch pad in Kazakhstan. A Russian Soyuz-Fregat rocket was used as the launch vehicle. The spacecraft included two parts—an orbiter and a lander named Beagle 2. The lander name was chosen in honor of the ship used during the 1800s by Charles Darwin to explore uncharted seas on Earth.

In late November 2003 the Mars Express reached the planet's vicinity and prepared to go into orbit. On December 19, 2003, the Beagle 2 was released from the orbiter. Six days later the lander entered the Martian atmosphere on its way to a landing site at Isidis Planitia (Plains of Isis). Isis was the Egyptian goddess of heaven and fertility. The ESA lost contact with Beagle 2 as it descended toward the planet. Repeated attempts to reestablish contact FIGURE 7.4
Rover spacecraft released by Delta II rocket were made over the next few months, but were not successful. The fate of the lander is unknown.

The Mars Express orbiter achieved orbit to begin its mission of collecting planetary data. As of May 2004 it was still undergoing deployment of its sub-surface sounding radar. It was expected to be fully operational by June 2004. The orbiter carries seven instruments designed to investigate the Martian atmosphere and geological structure and to search for subsurface water.