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MA

Space probes·ESA

Mars Express

ActiveLaunched in 2003·Mars orbit — 298-10,107 km

ESA's first orbiter around Mars. It confirmed the presence of water, methane and mapped the atmosphere.

Main objectives

Map Mars and its subsurface (MARSIS radar).
Study the atmosphere and the presence of methane.
Support surface missions through relay and imaging.

Did you know?

The MARSIS radar detected lakes of liquid water beneath Mars' south pole (2018).

Timeline

Jun 02, 2003

Launch

Soyuz from Baikonur.

Jul 25, 2018

Subglacial lakes

MARSIS detects liquid-water lakes beneath the south pole.

Instruments

[05]

HRSC

High Resolution Stereo Camera producing 3D color images of the Martian surface

OMEGA

Visible and infrared mapping spectrometer mapping surface mineralogical composition

MARSIS

Subsurface Sounding Radar/Altimeter detecting deep subsurface structures including water ice

ASPERA

Energetic neutral atoms analyzer studying solar wind–Martian atmosphere interaction

PFS

Planetary Fourier Spectrometer measuring atmospheric composition and temperature profile

Discoveries

[07]

Mission milestones

[02]

Official sources

ESA Mars Express↗