Brochure: Mars Express (2008)
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Data and scientific objectives
Crater with water ice
Water ice at the bottom of a crater near the Martian North Pole. The white water ice stands out clearly in the centre of the crater, which measures approximately 35 kilometres across. The impact crater is located in the northern lowlands of Vastitas Borealis. Water ice can persist year-round in the centre of the crater, as the temperature and atmospheric pressure are too low to cause sublimation – the direct transition from a solid to a gaseous state. When this image was taken (during late northern summer on Mars), carbon dioxide ice had already disappeared from the entire polar cap, leaving only water ice. Earlier measurements suggest that the ice layer has an estimated thickness of only a few decimetres.
Copyright note: In December 2014, DLR, ESA and FU Berlin agreed to publish the HRSC images from the Mars Express mission under a Creative Commons license: ESA/DLR/FU Berlin, CC BY-SA 3.0 IGO. This licence applies to all HRSC images released to date.
Mission | |
|---|---|
Launch | 2 June 2003, 19:45 CEST |
Arrival in Mars orbit (lander) | 25 December 2003, 04:00 CET |
Launch site | Baikonur, Kazakhstan |
Launch vehicle | Soyuz/Fregat |
Ground stations | Perth (Australia), Kourou (French Guiana) |
Ground reception time | 6.5–7 hours per day |
Mission control centre | European Space Operations Centre (ESOC), Darmstadt, Germany |
Nominal mission duration | One Martian year (approx. two Earth years or 687 days); due to its significant scientific achievements, ESA has extended the Mars Express mission several times, most recently until the end of 2026 |
Orbit | Elliptical final orbit: 250 kilometres (pericentre) x 11,583 km (apocentre) from Mars; inclination: 87 degrees; orbital period: 7.5 hours |
Spacecraft | |
|---|---|
Launch mass | 1042 kilogrammes, including 427 kilogrammes of fuel |
Scientific payload | Orbiter 116 kilogrammes; lander 60 kilogrammes |
Dimensions | Orbiter: 1.5 x 1.8 x 1.4 metres; solar panel wingspan: 12 metres; surface area: 11.42 square metres |
Power supply | Solar arrays with silicon cells: 660 watts at 1.5 astronomical units; energy storage: three lithium-ion batteries with a total capacity of 64.8 ampere-hours; power supply: 28 volts; peak power output: 450 watts |
Data transfer | X-band: 7.1 gigahertz; S-band: 2.1 gigahertz; communication: omnidirectional low-gain antenna (LGA), four metres; directional high-gain antenna (HGA), 1.8 metres; two di-pole antennas: both 20 metres |
Propulsion | Eight engines for orbital corrections, each delivering 10 newtons of thrust; one main engine with 400 newtons of thrust, for braking manoeuvres in Mars orbit; three-axis stabilisation |
Orbiter instruments | |
|---|---|
HRSC (High Resolution Stereo Camera) | German-led project; high-resolution colour stereo camera; developed for the Mars 96 mission |
MaRS (Mars Radio Science Experiment) | German-led project; investigates Mars' atmosphere, surface and gravity |
PFS (Planetary Fourier Spectrometer) | Italian-led project with German participation; infrared spectrometer for atmospheric research |
ASPERA (Analyser of Space Plasmas and Energetic Atoms) | Swedish-led project; analyses the interaction between Mars' atmosphere and the interplanetary medium |
MARSIS (Mars Advanced Radar for Subsurface and Ionospheric Sounding) | Italian-led project; studying the deep layers of the Martian soil and upper atmosphere |
OMEGA (Observatoire pour la Minéralogie, l’Eau, les Glaces et l'Activité) | French-led project; infrared spectrometer investigates Mars' surface composition; developed for the Mars 96 mission |
SPICAM (Spectroscopic Investigation of the Atmosphere of Mars) | Ultraviolet spectrometer for investigating the atmosphere; developed for the Rosetta mission |