Mars Express Orbiter

Mission Profile

Mars Express Orbiter is ESA's first Mars mission, launched on 2 June 2003 aboard a Soyuz-FG/Fregat rocket and arriving at Mars in December 2003, where it has operated continuously for over two decades. The orbiter's MARSIS subsurface radar has provided definitive evidence for liquid water beneath the Martian south polar cap, and its High Resolution Stereo Camera (HRSC) has produced the most comprehensive color three-dimensional topographic maps of the Martian surface yet achieved. Mars Express also deployed the Beagle 2 lander, which silently landed on Mars but failed to fully unfurl its solar panels, preventing it from communicating. Now more than 20 years into its mission, Mars Express continues providing science data and relay support for surface missions, making it ESA's longest-operating planetary mission.