Mars Express

*Mars Express*
	CG image of Mars Express arriving at Mars
Mission type	Mars orbiter
Operator	ESA
COSPAR ID	2003-022A
SATCAT no.	27816
Website	exploration.esa.int/mars
Mission duration	Elapsed:; 22 years and 25 days since launch; 21 years, 6 months and 2 days at Mars
Spacecraft properties
Launch mass	1,123 kg
Dry mass	666 kg (1,468 lb)
Power	460 watts
Start of mission
Launch date	June 2, 2003, 17:45 UTC
Rocket	Soyuz-FG/Fregat
Launch site	Baikonur 31/6
Contractor	Starsem
Orbital parameters
Reference system	Areocentric
Eccentricity	0.571
Periareion altitude	298 km (185 mi)
Apoareion altitude	10,107 km (6,280 mi)
Inclination	86.3 degrees
Period	7.5 hours
Mars orbiter
Spacecraft component	Mars Express
Orbital insertion	December 25, 2003, 03:00 UTC; MSD 46206 08:27 AMT
Mars lander
Spacecraft component	Beagle 2
Landing date	December 25, 2003, 02:54 UTC
HRSC
Instruments
HRSC	High Resolution Stereo Camera
OMEGA	Visible and Infrared Mineralogical, Mapping Spectrometer
MARSIS	Sub-surface Sounding Radar Altimeter
PFS	Planetary Fourier Spectrometer
SPICAM	Ultraviolet and Infrared Atmospheric Spectrometer
ASPERA	Energetic Neutral Atoms Analyser
MaRS	Mars Radio Science Experiment
VMC	Visual Monitoring Camera
	; ESA Solar System insignia for the Mars Express mission

Mars Express is a space exploration mission by the European Space Agency (ESA) exploring the planet Mars and its moons since 2003, and the first planetary mission attempted by ESA.^[2]

Mars Express consisted of two parts, the Mars Express Orbiter and Beagle 2,^[3] a lander designed to perform exobiology and geochemistry research. Although the lander failed to fully deploy after it landed on the Martian surface, the orbiter has been successfully performing scientific measurements since early 2004, namely, high-resolution imaging and mineralogical mapping of the surface, radar sounding of the subsurface structure down to the permafrost, precise determination of the atmospheric circulation and composition, and study of the interaction of the atmosphere with the interplanetary medium.^[3]

Due to the valuable science return and the highly flexible mission profile, Mars Express has been granted several mission extensions. The latest was approved on March 7, 2023, consisting of a confirmed operating period until December 31, 2026, and a further provisional extension to December 31, 2028.^[4]^[5] Arriving at Mars in 2003, 21 years, 6 months and 2 days ago (and counting), it is the second longest surviving, continually active spacecraft in orbit around a planet other than Earth, behind only NASA's still active 2001 Mars Odyssey.

^ "Mars Express". NASA Space Science Data Coordinated Archive. Retrieved November 30, 2022.
^ Howell, Elizabeth (July 26, 2018). "European Space Agency's Mars Express". Space.com. Retrieved April 1, 2023.
^ ^a ^b "NASA - NSSDCA - Spacecraft - Details". nssdc.gsfc.nasa.gov. National Aeronautics and Space Administration. Retrieved April 1, 2023.
^ "Extended life for ESA's science missions". ESA. March 7, 2023. Retrieved March 20, 2023.
^ Speed, Richard (December 24, 2023). "ESA's Mars Express continues to avoid retirement home". The Register. Retrieved January 6, 2024.

[1] "Mars Express". NASA Space Science Data Coordinated Archive. Retrieved November 30, 2022.

[:0-2] Howell, Elizabeth (July 26, 2018). "European Space Agency's Mars Express". Space.com. Retrieved April 1, 2023.

[:1-3] "NASA - NSSDCA - Spacecraft - Details". nssdc.gsfc.nasa.gov. National Aeronautics and Space Administration. Retrieved April 1, 2023.

[4] "Extended life for ESA's science missions". ESA. March 7, 2023. Retrieved March 20, 2023.

[5] Speed, Richard (December 24, 2023). "ESA's Mars Express continues to avoid retirement home". The Register. Retrieved January 6, 2024.

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