Mars Express

2011-09-26T15:22:57Z

195.232.198.27: /* Scientific Discoveries */

[[Image:Mars Express X orbit 2a-new.jpg|thumb|right|300px|Artists impression of the Mars Express orbiter]]

'''Mars Express''' was launched on June 2, 2003 from [[Baikonur Cosmodrome]] (Kazakhstan) on a [[Soyuz-Fregat rocket]] to search for water and the possibility of Martian life. Consisting of a low-cost orbiter and lander, ''Mars Express'' is a [[European Space Agency]] (ESA) mission to the Red Planet involving a consortium of countries (primarily France, Germany, Great Britain, Ireland, Italy, Japan, the Netherlands, Norway, Russia, Sweden, Spain, and the United States). In February 2007, ''Mars Express'' was granted a second mission extension until May 2009.

==Mission Overview==
[[Image:Mars express logo.jpg|thumb|left|200px|Official [[ESA]] Mars Express mission logo.]]
''Mars Express'' was a two-component mission consisting of the ''Mars Express Orbiter'' and [[Beagle 2]] lander. Unfortunately, the ''Beagle 2'' lander failed on entry into the Martian atmosphere and was lost on Christmas Day, 2003. The crash site of ''Beagle 2'' was later imaged by [[NASA]]'s [[Mars Global Surveyor]] in a crater near the planned landing site of the equatorial region known as [[Isidis Planitia]]. Despite this early loss, the ''Mars Express orbiter'' continues on its mission to explore the Martian surface.

Mars Express will be providing support for the [[NASA]] [[Phoenix]] lander when it arrives on Mars in mid-2008.

===Instrumentation===
The ''Mars Express'' mission is now dedicated to the orbital study of the interior,
subsurface, surface, atmosphere, and environment of Mars. The technology for ''Mars Express'' was developed from cancelled [[Russian Mars-96]] mission and the small ESA ''Rosetta'' mission to small solar system bodies (i.e. comets and asteroids). The orbiter carried eight instruments at launch:
* The ''High Resolution Stereo Camera'' (HRSC) for high resolution surface imaging.
* ''Energetic Neutron Atoms Analyser'' (ASPERA) to analyse how the [[solar wind]] erodes the Martian atmosphere.
* ''Planetary Fourier Spectrometer'' (PFS) to study of the atmospheric composition and circulation.
* ''Visible and Infrared Mineralogical Mapping Spectrometer'' (OMEGA) to determine the [[surface composition]] and evolution processes.
* ''Sub-Surface Sounding Radar Altimeter'' (MARSIS) intended for the search for water in the subsurface.
* ''The Radio Science Experiment'' (MaRS) for sounding of the internal structure, atmosphere and environment.
* ''Ultraviolet and Infrared Mars Atmospheric Spectrometer'' (SPICAM) for the determination of the composition of the atmosphere of Mars.
* ''Beagle 2'' lander intended for [[geochemistry]] and [[exobiology]].

[[Image:MARSIS.jpg|thumb|250px|right|A MARSIS map of Mars' south pole ice deposits.]]

Heck yeah this is exactly what I neeedd.

== External links ==
* [http://www.esa.int/SPECIALS/Mars_Express/index.html ESA's Mars Express pages]
* [http://www.esa.int/esa-mmg/mmg.pl?mission=Mars+Express Recent Mars Express images]
* [http://marsprogram.jpl.nasa.gov/express/ NASA's Mars Express pages]
* [http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mars_Express Wikipedia page on Mars Express]

[[category:Orbiters]]

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Mars Express