Mars Express
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Mars_Express_X_orbit_2a.jpg
Mars Express is a Mars exploration mission of the European Space Agency and Italian Space Agency. The spacecraft was launched on June 2 2003 from Baikonur Cosmodrome in Kazakhstan, using a Soyuz-Fregat rocket, and began its inter-planetary voyage. The use of the word "express" in this mission's name refers originally to the relatively short time of its voyage, which was launched in time when Earth and Mars was closer to each other than ever in recorded history (about 60,000 years). However it also describes nicely the speed and efficiency with which the spacecraft was designed and built.
The craft consists of the Mars Express Orbiter which also carried a lander, Beagle 2, designed to perform exobiology and geochemistry research. It was hoped the lander would shed light on whether Mars had once supported or possibly currently supports living organisms. Many of the instruments on the orbiter, including the camera systems and some spectrometers, are duplicates of those lost in the launch failure of the Russian Mars 96 mission in 1996 (European countries had provided much of the instrumentation and financing for that unsuccessful mission). The basic design of Mars Express is based on the ESA's Rosetta mission on which considerable money was spent developing the spacecraft. It is also being reused in the Venus Express mission. This is done to greatly reduce development time and cost and also increase reliablity.
The orbiter entered Mars orbit on December 25, 2003, and Beagle 2 entered Mars' atmosphere the same day. After repeated attempts to contact the lander failed, it was declared lost on February 6, 2004, by the Beagle 2 Management Board. On February 11, ESA announced an inquiry would be held into the failure of Beagle 2.
In the meantime, the Mars Express Orbiter has started its science phase and performs excellently at the start of a two year survey of Mars.
In 2005, ESA scientists reported that the OMEGA (Visible and Infrared Mineralogical Mapping Spectrometer) instrument data indicates the presence of hydrated sulphates, silicates and various rock-forming minerals.
The Fourier spectrometer has detected methane in the atmosphere coming from areas near the equator with subsurface ice, a very important discovery indicating either some form of active vulcanism or subsurface microorganisms.
On May 4 2005, Mars Express deployed the first of its two 20-metre-long radar booms for its MARSIS (Mars Advanced Radar for Subsurface and Ionosphere Sounding) experiment. At first the boom didn't lock fully into place, however, exposing it to sunlight for a few minutes on May 10 fixed the glitch. The second 20-m boom is now scheduled to be deployed on June 14. The radar booms were originally scheduled to be deployed in April 2004, but this was delayed out of fear that the deployment could damage the spacecraft through a whiplash effect. Both 20-m booms are needed to create a 40-m dipole antenna for MARSIS to work; there is also a less crucial 7-metre-long monopole antenna remaining to be deployed. [1] (http://www.newscientist.com/article.ns?id=dn7351)[2] (http://www.newscientist.com/article.ns?id=dn7360) [3] (http://www.newscientist.com/article.ns?id=dn7369) [4] (http://www.newscientist.com/article.ns?id=dn7485)
Mars Express instruments
- OMEGA (France)
- SPICAM (France)
- MARSIS (Italy)
- PFS (Italy)
- ASPERA (Sweden)
- HRSC (Germany - produces high resolution images)
Related articles
External links
- Mars Express project (official site) (http://sci.esa.int/marsexpress/)
- FU Berlin: HRSC project page (http://www.geoinf.fu-berlin.de/mex/) (eng. & ger.; press releases and high resolution images)
- OMEGA: water at Martian South pole (http://www.esa.int/SPECIALS/Mars_Express/SEMYKEX5WRD_0.html)
- PFS: Methane map of Mars (http://www.esa.int/esaCP/SEMAK21XDYD_Life_0.html)
da:Mars Express de:Mars Express fr:Mars Express nl:Mars Express pt:Mars Express it:Mars Express ja:マーズ・エクスプレス sv:Mars Express fi:Mars Express