Mars Express orbiting precisely and safely (Forwarded)

ESA News
http://www.esa.int

27 December 2003

Mars Express orbiting precisely and safely

The Mars Express orbiter, mothership of Europe's first mission to the Red
Planet, is in a stable and precise orbit around Mars.

The essential Mars Orbit Insertion (MOI) manoeuvre had been completed on 25
December at 3:47 CET [0247 UTC]. This brought the spacecraft as close as 400
kilometres to the surface of Mars.

Afterwards, the spacecraft went into a highly elliptical orbit, going as far as
188,000 kilometres away from the planet. The most essential part of the Mars
Express mission is performing very well and we are expecting exciting science
from January 2004 onwards.

Today, 27 December, the mission control team at ESOC prepared the next steps to
turn Mars Express from a near-equatorial orbit into a polar orbit. Michael
McKay, Mars Express Flight Director explained, "Our flight dynamics and flight
operations teams thoroughly discuss, evaluate and prepare the commands to
perform a series of manoeuvres starting with a major move on 30 December --
where we will fire the main engine again for three minutes.

"These key manoeuvres will allow us to get even closer to Mars. They will not
only allow us more frequent 'overflights' of the Beagle 2 landing area, but also
ensure the beginning of the orbiter's science mission. As Mars Express is the
planned main communication partner of the Beagle 2, the chances of obtaining a
signal strongly increase with these manoeuvres after 4 January 2004."

Close European and international co-operation

The ESA control team at ESOC are in regular contact with their colleagues of the
Beagle 2 team and the Jodrell Bank telescope in the UK, with NASA ground
stations and with several other European partners (UK, Germany, Netherlands,
etc.). Many international offers have been forthcoming to support the search for
the Beagle 2 lander.

Next official status reports on Mars Express and Beagle 2

The ESA operations centre at ESOC keeps the press informed via the detailed ESA
Mars Express web site
http://mars.esa.int
or via the info box
0049 6151 90 2609

The latest on Beagle 2 is at
http://www.beagle2.com

More about ...

* Europe goes to Mars
http://www.esa.int/SPECIALS/Mars_Express/index.html
* Mars Express overview
http://www.esa.int/esaSC/120379_index_0_m.html
* Christmas on Mars: be there with ESA
http://www.esa.int/SPECIALS/Mars_Exp...6Q274OD_0.html
* Getting it right: An interview with Rudi Schmidt
http://www.esa.int/esaSC/SEMDILXLDMD_people_0_iv.html
* Testing times: An interview with Con McCarthy
http://www.esa.int/esaSC/SEMZTOXLDMD_people_0_iv.html
* A giant step for Europe: An interview with Michael McKay
http://www.esa.int/esaSC/SEMZSOXLDMD_people_0_iv.html

Related links

* Beagle 2 lander homepage
http://www.beagle2.com