Mars Express: First European voyage to Mars to start in 2 hours from now
The British led Beagle 2 Mars Lander
"[Today] at 19:45 Central European Summer Time (CEST), 17.45 UT ESA's Mars Express will be launched by a Soyuz launcher from Baikonur, Kazakhstan.Mars Express has been designed to perform the most thorough exploration ever of the Red Planet, not only searching for water, but also understanding the 'behaviour' of the planet as a whole. In maybe the most ambitious aim of all, Mars Express is the only mission in more than 25 years that dares to search for life. Mars Express will reach its target by the end of December 2003, after a trip of just over six months. Six days before injection into its final orbit, Mars Express will eject the lander, Beagle 2. The Mars Express orbiter will observe the planet and its atmosphere from a near-polar orbit, and will remain in operation for at least a whole Martian year (687 Earth days). Beagle 2 will land in an equatorial region that was probably flooded in the past, and where traces of life may have been preserved."
ESA Mars Express Mission Details (English)
DLR Mars Express Mission Details (German)
ESA Live Webcast of Launch, starting 19:15 CET (English)
DLR Live Webcast of the DLR event in Berlin-Adlershof, 18:45 - 22:30 (German)
Entry first published 2009-05-18 00:59, last edited 2009-05-18 00:59
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