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type	lander |component = Beagle 2 |object = Mars |site = |arrival_date = December 25, 2003, 02:54 UTC

| instruments = High Resolution Stereo Camera (HRSC), Visible and Infrared Mineralogical, Mapping Spectrometer (OMEGA), Sub-surface Sounding Radar Altimeter (MARSIS), Planetary Fourier Spectrometer (PFS), Ultraviolet and Infrared Atmospheric Spectrometer (SPICAM), Energetic Neutral Atoms Analyser (ASPERA), Mars Radio Science Experiment (MaRS), Visual Monitoring Camera (VMC)| insignia = File:Mars Express insignia.png| insignia_caption = ESA Solar System insignia for the Mars Express mission| insignia_alt = Mars Express mission insignia| insignia_size = 180x180px}}Mars Express is a space exploration mission being conducted by the European Space Agency (ESA). The Mars Express mission is exploring the planet Mars, and is the first planetary mission attempted by the agency.WEB, Howell, Elizabeth, July 26, 2018, European Space Agency's Mars Express,weblink April 1, 2023, Space.com, "Express" originally referred to the speed and efficiency with which the spacecraft was designed and built.WEB,weblink Mars Express Frequently Asked Questions, ESA, February 18, 2009, March 28, 2016, However, "Express" also describes the spacecraft's relatively short interplanetary voyage, a result of being launched when the orbits of Earth and Mars brought them closer than they had been in about 60,000 years.Mars Express consists of two parts, the Mars Express Orbiter and Beagle 2,WEB, NASA - NSSDCA - Spacecraft - Details,weblink April 1, 2023, nssdc.gsfc.nasa.gov, National Aeronautics and Space Administration, 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.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.WEB,weblink Extended life for ESA's science missions, ESA, March 7, 2023, March 20, 2023, WEB,weblink ESA's Mars Express continues to avoid retirement home, The Register, Speed, Richard, December 24, 2023, January 6, 2024, Some of the instruments on the orbiter, including the camera systems and some spectrometers, reuse designs from the failed launch of the Russian Mars 96 mission in 1996 (European countries had provided much of the instrumentation and financing for that unsuccessful mission). The design of Mars Express is based on ESA's Rosetta mission, on which a considerable sum was spent on development. The same design was also used for ESA's Venus Express mission in order to increase reliability and reduce development cost and time. Because of these redesigns and repurposings, the total cost of the project was about $345 million- less than half of comparable U.S. missions.Announcement by the European Space Agency on the launch of the Mars Express space probe: "Mars en route for the red planet". (2004). Historic documents of 2003.Washington, DC: CQ Press. Retrieved fromweblink{{dead link|date=November 2016 |bot=InternetArchiveBot |fix-attempted=yes }}Arriving at Mars in 2003, {{Age in years, months and days| year=2003| month=12| day=25}} 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.

Mission profile and timeline overview

{{more citations needed section|date=June 2011}}

Mission overview

The Mars Express mission is dedicated to the orbital (and originally in-situ) study of the interior, subsurface, surface and atmosphere, and environment of the planet Mars.The scientific objectives of the Mars Express mission represent an attempt to fulfill in part the lost scientific goals of the Russian Mars 96 mission, complemented by exobiology research with Beagle-2. Mars exploration is crucial for a better understanding of the Earth from the perspective of comparative planetology.The spacecraft originally carried seven scientific instruments, a small lander, a lander relay and a Visual Monitoring Camera, all designed to contribute to solving the mystery of Mars' missing water. All of the instruments take measurements of the surface, atmosphere and interplanetary media, from the main spacecraft in polar orbit, which will allow it to gradually cover the whole planet.The total initial Mars Express budget excluding the lander was €150 million.WEB, Mars Express: Summary,weblink European Space Agency, March 29, 2011, WEB, Mars Express,weblink NSSDC ID: 2003-022A, NASA, December 7, 2018, The prime contractor for the construction of Mars Express orbiter was EADS Astrium Satellites.

Mission preparation

In the years preceding the launch of a spacecraft numerous teams of experts distributed over the contributing companies and organisations prepared the space and ground segments. Each of these teams focussed on the area of its responsibility and interfacing as required. A major additional requirement raised for the Launch and Early Orbit Phase (LEOP) and all critical operational phases was that it was not enough merely to interface; the teams had to be integrated into one Mission Control Team. All the different experts had to work together in an operational environment and the interaction and interfaces between all elements of the system (software, hardware and human) had to run smoothly for this to happen:

• the flight operations procedures had to be written and validated down to the smallest detail;
• the control system had to be validated;
• system Validation Tests (SVTs) with the satellite had to be performed to demonstrate the correct interfacing of the ground and space segments;
• mission Readiness Test with the Ground Stations had to be performed;
• a Simulations Campaign was run.

Launch

(File:Animation of Mars Express trajectory around Sun.gif|thumb|right|Animation of Mars Express's trajectory around Sun{{legend2|magenta|Mars Express}}{{·}}{{legend2|Yellow|Sun}}{{·}}{{legend2|Royalblue|Earth}} {{·}}{{legend2|Lime|Mars}})The spacecraft was launched on June 2, 2003, at 23:45 local time (17:45 UT, 1:45 p.m. EDT) from Baikonur Cosmodrome in Kazakhstan, using a Soyuz-FG/Fregat rocket. The Mars Express and Fregat booster were initially put into a 200 km Earth parking orbit, then the Fregat was fired again at 19:14 UT to put the spacecraft into a Mars transfer orbit. The Fregat and Mars Express separated at approximately 19:17 UT. The solar panels were then deployed and a trajectory correction manoeuvre was performed on June 4 to aim Mars Express towards Mars and allow the Fregat booster to coast into interplanetary space. The Mars Express was the first Russian-launched probe to successfully make it out of low Earth orbit since the Soviet Union fell.

Near Earth commissioning phase

The Near Earth commissioning phase extended from the separation of the spacecraft from the launcher upper stage until the completion of the initial check out of the orbiter and payload. It included the solar array deployment, the initial attitude acquisition, the declamping of the Beagle-2 spin-up mechanism, the injection error correction manoeuvre and the first commissioning of the spacecraft and payload (final commissioning of payload took place after Mars Orbit Insertion). The payload was checked out one instrument at a time. This phase lasted about one month.

The interplanetary cruise phase

This five month phase lasted from the end of the Near Earth Commissioning phase until one month prior to the Mars capture manoeuvre and included trajectory correction manoeuvres and payloads calibration. The payload was mostly switched off during the cruise phase, with the exception of some intermediate check-outs.Although it was originally meant to be a "quiet cruise" phase, It soon became obvious that this "cruise" would be indeed very busy. There were star Tracker problems, a power wiring problem, extra manoeuvres, and on October 28, the spacecraft was hit by one of the largest solar flares ever recorded.{{clear}}

Lander jettison

The Beagle 2 lander was released on December 19, 2003, at 8:31 UTC (9:31 CET) on a ballistic cruise towards the surface. It entered Mars' atmosphere on the morning of December 25. Landing was expected to occur at about 02:45 UT on December 25 (9:45 p.m. EST December 24). However, after repeated attempts to contact the lander failed using the Mars Express craft and the NASA Mars Odyssey orbiter, it was declared lost on February 6, 2004, by the Beagle 2 management board. An inquiry was held and its findings were published later that year.

Orbit insertion

File:Animation of Mars Express trajectory around Mars.gif |thumb |right |Animation of Mars Express{{'s}} trajectory around Mars from December 25, 2003, to January 1, 2010{{legend2|magenta| Mars Express}}{{·}}{{legend2| Lime|MarsMars{{multiple image|align=right|direction=vertical|image1=PIA07944 Mars Express Seen by Mars Global Surveyor.jpg|caption1=Image of Mars Express in orbit, taken by Mars Global Surveyor|image2=PIA07944 Mars Express Seen by Mars Global Surveyor, Figure 1.jpg|caption2=Artist's impression of the expected appearance of Mars Express at the time of the Mars Global Surveyor image}}Mars Express arrived at Mars after a 400 million km journey and course corrections in September and in December 2003.On December 20 Mars Express fired a short thruster burst to put it into position to orbit the planet. The Mars Express orbiter then fired its main engine and went into a highly elliptical initial-capture orbit of 250 km × 150,000 km with an inclination of 25 degrees on December 25 at 03:00 UT (10:00 p.m., December 24 EST).First evaluation of the orbital insertion showed that the orbiter had reached its first milestone at Mars. The orbit was later adjusted by four more main engine firings to the desired 259 km × 11,560 km near-polar (86 degree inclination) orbit with a period of 7.5 hours. Near periapsis (nearest to Mars) the top deck is pointed down towards the Martian surface and near apoapsis (farthest from Mars in its orbit) the high gain antenna will be pointed towards Earth for uplink and downlink.After 100 days the apoapsis was lowered to 10,107 km and periapsis raised to 298 km to give an orbital period of 6.7 hours.

MARSIS deployment

(File:Mars Express illustration highlighting MARSIS antenna.jpg|thumb|left|Illustration of Mars Express with MARSIS antenna deployed)On May 4, 2005, Mars Express deployed the first of its two 20-metre-long radar booms for its MARSIS (Mars Advanced Radar for Subsurface and Ionosphere Sounding) experiment. At first the boom did not lock fully into place; however, exposing it to sunlight for a few minutes on May 10 fixed the glitch. The second 20 m boom was successfully deployed on June 14. Both 20 m booms were needed to create a 40 m dipole antenna for MARSIS to work; a less crucial 7-meter-long monopole antenna was deployed on June 17. The radar booms were originally scheduled to be deployed in April 2004, but this was delayed out of fear that the deployment could damage the spacecraft through a whiplash effect. Due to the delay it was decided to split the four-week commissioning phase in two parts, with two weeks running up to July 4 and another two weeks in December 2005.The deployment of the booms was a critical and highly complex task requiring effective inter-agency cooperation ESA, NASA, Industry and public Universities.Nominal science observations began during July 2005.

Operations of the spacecraft

Operations for Mars Express are carried out by a multinational team of engineers from ESA's Operation Centre (ESOC) in Darmstadt. The team began preparations for the mission about 3 to 4 years prior to the actual launch. This involved preparing the ground segment and the operational procedures for the whole mission.The Mission Control Team is composed of the Flight Control Team, Flight Dynamics Team, Ground Operations Managers, Software Support and Ground Facilities Engineers. All of these are located at ESOC but there are additionally external teams, such as the Project and Industry Support teams, who designed and built the spacecraft.The Flight Control Team currently consists of:

• The Spacecraft Operations Manager
• Six Operations Engineers (including three Mission Planners)
• One Spacecraft Analyst
• Six spacecraft controllers (SpaCons), shared with ExoMars Trace Gas Orbiter, BepiColombo and Solar Orbiter.

The team build-up, headed by the Spacecraft Operations Manager, started about four years before launch. He was required to recruit a suitable team of engineers that could handle the varying tasks involved in the mission. For Mars Express the engineers came from various other missions. Most of them had been involved with Earth orbiting satellites.

Routine phase: science return

File:Mars-SubglacialWater-SouthPoleRegion-20180725.jpg|thumb|upright|{{center|Mars SouthPoleSite of Subglacial Water(July 25, 2018)}}]]Since orbit insertion Mars Express has been progressively fulfilling its original scientific goals. Nominally the spacecraft points to Mars while acquiring science and then slews to Earth-pointing to downlink the data, although some instruments like Marsis or Radio Science might be operated while spacecraft is Earth-pointing.

Orbiter and subsystems

Structure

The Mars Express orbiter is a cube-shaped spacecraft with two solar panel wings extending from opposite sides. The launch mass of 1223 kg includes a main bus with 113 kg of payload, the 60 kg lander, and 457 kg of propellant. The main body is 1.5 m × 1.8 m × 1.4 m in size, with an aluminium honeycomb structure covered by an aluminium skin. The solar panels measure about 12 m tip-to-tip. Two 20 m long wire dipole antennas extend from opposite side faces perpendicular to the solar panels as part of the radar sounder.WEB,weblink The spacecraft / Mars Express, ESA, October 10, 2005, March 29, 2016,

Propulsion

The Soyuz/Fregat launcher provided most of the thrust Mars Express needed to reach Mars. The final stage of the Fregat was jettisoned once the probe was safely on a course for Mars. The spacecraft's on-board means of propulsion was used to slow the probe for Mars orbit insertion and subsequently for orbit corrections.The body is built around the main propulsion system, which consists of a bipropellant 400 N main engine. The two 267-liter propellant tanks have a total capacity of 595 kg. Approximately 370 kg are needed for the nominal mission. Pressurized helium from a 35-liter tank is used to force fuel into the engine. Trajectory corrections will be made using a set of eight 10 N thrusters, one attached to each corner of the spacecraft bus. The spacecraft configuration is optimized for a Soyuz/Fregat, and was fully compatible with a Delta II launch vehicle.

Power

Spacecraft power is provided by the solar panels which contain 11.42 square meters of silicon cells. The originally planned power was to be 660{{nbsp}}W at 1.5{{nbsp}}AU but a faulty connection has reduced the amount of power available by 30%, to about 460{{nbsp}}W. This loss of power does significantly impact the science return of the mission. Power is stored in three lithium-ion batteries with a total capacity of 64.8{{nbsp}}Ah for use during eclipses. The power is fully regulated at 28{{nbsp}}V, and the Terma power module (also used in Rosetta) is redundant.NEWS,weblink Terma-elektronik vækker rumsonde fra årelang dvale, Ingeniøren, Mie, Stage, January 19, 2014, March 29, 2016, JOURNAL, Power Conditioning Unit for Rosetta/Mars Express, Space Power, 502, 249, Astrophysics Data System, Jensen, H., Laursen, J., 2002ESASP.502..249J, 2002, During routine phase, the spacecraft's power consumption is in the range of 450–550{{nbsp}}W.WEB,weblink MEX — ASI-PROC, Planetary Radar Operational Center, March 29, 2016, March 29, 2016,weblink" title="web.archive.org/web/20160413141724weblink">weblink April 13, 2016,

Avionics

Attitude control (3-axis stabilization) is achieved using two 3-axis inertial measurement units, a set of two star cameras and two Sun sensors, gyroscopes, accelerometers, and four 12 N·m·s reaction wheels. Pointing accuracy is 0.04 degree with respect to the inertial reference frame and 0.8 degree with respect to the Mars orbital frame. Three on-board systems help Mars Express maintain a very precise pointing accuracy, which is essential to allow the spacecraft to use some of the science instruments.

Communications

The communications subsystem is composed of three antennas: A 1.6 m diameter parabolic dish high-gain antenna and two omnidirectional antennas. The first one provide links (telecommands uplink and telemetry downlink) in both X-band (8.4 GHz) and S-band (2.1 GHz) and is used during nominal science phase around Mars. The low gain antennas are used during launch and early operations to Mars and for eventual contingencies once in orbit. Two Mars lander relay UHF antennas are mounted on the top face for communication with the Beagle 2 or other landers, using a Melacom transceiver.WEB,weblink QinetiQ to put Mars in the picture,weblink" title="web.archive.org/web/20060831063330weblink">weblink August 31, 2006, Consisting of a lightweight bespoke transponder and transceiver weighing less than 650 grams, the system will provide the 10,000-kilometre UHF radio communications link between the Mars Express orbiter and Beagle-2 lander., Qinetiq, March 29, 2016,

Earth stations

Although communications with Earth were originally scheduled to take place with the ESA 35-meter wide Ground Station in New Norcia (Australia) New Norcia Station, the mission profile of progressive enhancement and science return flexibility have triggered the use of the ESA ESTRACK Ground Stations in Cebreros Station, Madrid, Spain and Malargüe Station, Argentina.In addition, further agreements with NASA Deep Space Network have made possible the use of American stations for nominal mission planning, thus increasing complexity but with a clear positive impact in scientific returns.This inter-agency cooperation has proven effective, flexible and enriching for both sides. On the technical side, it has been made possible (among other reasons) thanks to the adoption of both Agencies of the Standards for Space Communications defined in CCSDS.

Thermal

Thermal control is maintained through the use of radiators, multi-layer insulation, and actively controlled heaters. The spacecraft must provide a benign environment for the instruments and on-board equipment. Two instruments, PFS and OMEGA, have infrared detectors that need to be kept at very low temperatures (about −180 Â°C). The sensors on the camera (HRSC) also need to be kept cool. But the rest of the instruments and on-board equipment function best at room temperatures (10–20 Â°C).The spacecraft is covered in gold-plated aluminium-tin alloy thermal blankets to maintain a temperature of 10–20 Â°C inside the spacecraft. The instruments that operate at low temperatures to be kept cold are thermally insulated from this relatively high internal temperature, and emit excess heat into space using attached radiators.

Control unit and data storage

The spacecraft is run by two Control and Data management Units with 12 gigabits of solid state mass memory for storage of data and housekeeping information for transmission. The on-board computers control all aspects of the spacecraft functioning including switching instruments on and off, assessing the spacecraft orientation in space and issuing commands to change it.Another key aspect of the Mars Express mission is its artificial intelligence tool (MEXAR2).WEB, Artificial Intelligence Boosts Science from Mars,weblink ESA, April 29, 2008, March 29, 2016, The primary purpose of the AI tool is the scheduling of when to download various parts of the collected scientific data back to Earth, a process which used to take ground controllers a significant amount of time. The new AI tool saves operator time, optimizes bandwidth use on the DSN, prevents data loss, and allows better use of the DSN for other space operations as well. The AI decides how to manage the spacecraft's 12 gigabits of storage memory, when the DSN will be available and not be in use by another mission, how to make the best use of the DSN bandwidth allocated to it, and when the spacecraft will be oriented properly to transmit back to Earth.JOURNAL, 10.1109/MIS.2007.75,weblink Mexar2: AI Solves Mission Planner Problems, IEEE Intelligent Systems, 22, 4, 12–19, Amedeo, Cesta, 2007, 14477705, December 7, 2011, March 5, 2012,weblink" title="web.archive.org/web/20120305230348weblink">weblink

Lander

File:Beagle 2 replica.jpg|thumb|A replica of the Beagle 2 lander component of Mars Express at the Science Museum LondonScience Museum LondonThe Beagle 2 lander objectives were to characterize the landing site geology, mineralogy, and geochemistry, the physical properties of the atmosphere and surface layers, collect data on Martian meteorology and climatology, and search for possible signatures of life on Mars. However, the landing attempt was unsuccessful and the lander was declared lost. A Commission of Inquiry on Beagle 2WEB,weblink Beagle 2 ESA/UK Commission of Inquiry, NASASpaceFlight.com, April 5, 2004, March 29, 2016, identified several possible causes, including airbag problems, severe shocks to the lander's electronics which had not been simulated adequately before launch, and problems with parts of the landing system colliding; but was unable to reach any firm conclusions. The spacecraft's fate remained a mystery until it was announced in January 2015 that NASA's Mars Reconnaissance Orbiter, using HiRISE, had found the probe intact on the surface of Mars. It was then determined that an error had prevented two of the spacecraft's four solar panels from deploying, blocking the spacecraft's communications. Beagle 2 was the first British and first European probe to achieve a landing on Mars.

Scientific instruments

The scientific objectives of the Mars Express payload are to obtain global high-resolution photo-geology (10 m resolution), mineralogical mapping (100 m resolution) and mapping of the atmospheric composition, study the subsurface structure, the global atmospheric circulation, and the interaction between the atmosphere and the subsurface, and the atmosphere and the interplanetary medium. The total mass budgeted for the science payload is 116 kg.BOOK, ESA SP-1240: Mars Express: the scientific payloadlast1=Wilson last2=Chicarro, Noordwijk, Netherlands, ESA Publications Division, 2004, 978-92-9092-556-9,weblink

• Visible and Infrared Mineralogical Mapping Spectrometer (OMEGA) (Observatoire pour la Minéralogie, l'Eau, les Glaces et l'Activité) – France – Determines mineral composition of the surface up to 100 m resolution. Is mounted inside pointing out the top face.JOURNAL

AUTHOR5-LINK=RAYMOND ARVIDSON, John F. Mustardjournal=Science (journal), Science, 312, 5772, 2006, 400–404, 10.1126/science.1122659bibcode = 2006Sci...312..400B, 13968348,

• Ultraviolet and Infrared Atmospheric Spectrometer (SPICAM) – France – Assesses elemental composition of the atmosphere. Is mounted inside pointing out the top face. Instrument mass: 4.7 kg
• Sub-Surface Sounding Radar Altimeter (MARSIS) – Italy – A radar altimeter used to assess composition of sub-surface aimed at search for frozen water. Is mounted in the body and is nadir pointing, and also incorporates the two 20 m antennas. Instrument mass: 13.7 kg
• Planetary Fourier Spectrometer (PFS) – Italy – Makes observations of atmospheric temperature and pressure (observations suspended in September 2005). Is mounted inside pointing out the top faceJOURNAL,weblink Martian methane probe in trouble, News@nature, Nature (journal), Nature, 10.1038/news050905-10, Mark, Peplow, September 7, 2005, news050905–10, March 29, 2016, and is currently working. Instrument mass: 30.8 kg
• Analyzer of Space Plasmas and Energetic Atoms (ASPERA) – Sweden – Investigates interactions between upper atmosphere and solar wind. Is mounted on the top face. Instrument mass: 7.9 kg
• High Resolution Stereo Camera (HRSC) – Germany – Produces color images with up to 2 m resolution. Is mounted inside the spacecraft body, aimed through the top face of the spacecraft, which is nadir pointing during Mars operations. Instrument mass: 20.4 kg
• Mars Express Lander Communications (MELACOM) – UK – Allows Mars Express to act as a communication relay for landers on the Martian surface. (Has been used on both Mars Exploration Rovers, and was used to support the landing of NASA's Phoenix mission)
• Mars Radio Science Experiment (MaRS) – Uses radio signals to investigate atmosphere, surface, subsurface, gravity and solar corona density during solar conjunctions. It uses the communications subsystem itself.
• Visual Monitoring Camera, a small camera to monitor the lander ejection.

Scientific discoveries and important events

For more than 20,000 orbits, Mars Express payload instruments have been nominally and regularly operated. The HRSC camera has been consistently mapping the Martian surface with unprecedented resolution and has acquired multiple images.

2004

• January 23

• January 28

• March 17

• March 30

• April 28

• July 15

2005

• In 2005, ESA scientists reported that the OMEGA (Visible and Infrared Mineralogical Mapping Spectrometer)(Observatoire pour la Minéralogie, l'Eau, les Glaces et l'Activité) instrument data indicates the presence of hydrated sulphates, silicates and various rock-forming minerals.JOURNAL, Mustard, JF, Olivine and Pyroxene Diversity in the Crust of Mars, Science, 2005, 307, 5715, 1594–7, 10.1126/science.1109098, 15718427, 2005Sci...307.1594M, 15548016, free, JOURNAL, Bargery, AS, etal, NEAR-INFRARED ANALYSIS OF TEMPE TERRA, OLYMPICA FOSSAE AND NILI FOSSAE FROM OMEGA DATA, Lunar and Planetary Science, 2006, XXXVII, 1684,
• February 8

• May 5

• May 11

• June 14

• June 22

2006

{{External media|float=right|image1=Cydonia region ESA/DLR Credit {{mdash}} 13.7 m/pixel }}

• September 21

• September 26

• October

• December

2007

(File:Phobos over Mars' limb by HRSC.jpg|thumb|upright|Greyscale view of Phobos over Mars, 2007ESA/DLR/FU Berlin)

• January

• February

• February 23

• June 28

2008

• The Mars Express Team was the winner of the Sir Arthur Clarke Award for Best Team Achievement.

2009

• February 4

• October 7

2010

• March 5

2011

• August 13

• August 23

• September 23

• October 11

• October 16

• November 24

2012

• February 16

• July

• August 5/6

2013

• Mars Express produced a near-complete topographical map of Mars' surface.NEWS, Elizabeth, Gibney, Spectacular flyover of Mars, October 28, 2013,weblink Nature News, November 17, 2013,
• December 29

File:Rabe Crater perspective ESA310887.jpg|thumb|Rabe crater, 2014]]

2014

• October 19

2016

• October 19

(File:Martian south pole during summer by HRSC.jpg|thumb|South pole of Mars by Mars Express, 2015ESA/DLR/FU Berlin)

2017

• June 19

2018

• Activated new AOCMS software which includes a gyroless attitude estimator to prolong the lifetime of the spacecraft's laser gyrosWEB, Mars Express v2.0,weblink April 12, 2022, ESA.int,
• July 2018, a discovery is reported based on MARSIS radar studies, of a subglacial lake on Mars, {{convert|1.5|km|mi|abbr=on}} below the southern polar ice cap, and about {{convert|20|km|mi|abbr=on}} wide, the first known stable body of water on Mars.JOURNAL, Orosei, R., etal, Radar evidence of subglacial liquid water on Mars, July 25, 2018, Science (journal), Science, 361, 6401, 490–493, 10.1126/science.aar7268, 30045881, 2004.04587, 11573/1148029, free, 2018Sci...361..490O, NEWS, Chang, Kenneth, Overbye, Dennis, Dennis Overbye, A Watery Lake Is Detected on Mars, Raising the Potential for Alien Life - The discovery suggests that watery conditions beneath the icy southern polar cap may have provided one of the critical building blocks for life on the red planet.,weblink July 25, 2018, The New York Times, July 25, 2018, WEB, Huge reservoir of liquid water detected under the surface of Mars,weblink EurekAlert, July 25, 2018, July 25, 2018, WEB, Liquid water 'lake' revealed on Mars,weblink BBC News, July 25, 2018, July 25, 2018,
• December 2018 Mars Express relays images of the 80-kilometer wide Korolev Crater filled with approximately 2200 cubic kilometers of water ice on the Martian surface.WEB, A winter wonderland in red and white – Korolev Crater on Mars,weblink German Aerospace Center (DLR), December 20, 2018, Based on further evidence the crater ice is still part of much vaster ice resources at Mars poles.NEWS, Sample, Ian,weblink The Guardian, December 21, 2018, Mars Express Beams Back Images of Ice-Filled Korolev Crater, December 21, 2018,

{{Further|Water on Mars}}

2019

• Based on data from the HRSC camera, there is geological evidence of an ancient planet-wide groundwater system.JOURNAL, 10.1029/2018JE005802, 31007995, 6472477, Geological Evidence of Planet‐Wide Groundwater System on Mars, 2019, Salese, Francesco, Pondrelli, Monica, Neeseman, Alicia, Schmidt, Gene, Ori, Gian Gabriele, Journal of Geophysical Research: Planets, 124, 2, 374–395, 2019JGRE..124..374S, WEB,weblink ESA, February 28, 2019, First evidence of planet-wide groundwater system on Mars,

2020

• Sept 2020, a discovery is reported based on MARSIS radar studies, of a three more subglacial lakes on Mars, {{convert|1.5|km|mi|abbr=on}} below the southern polar ice cap. The size of the first lake found, and the largest, has been corrected to {{convert|30|km|mi|abbr=on}} wide. It is surrounded by 3 smaller lakes, each a few kilometres wide.JOURNAL, Lauro, Sebastian Emanuel, Pettinelli, Elena, Caprarelli, Graziella, Guallini, Luca, Rossi, Angelo Pio, Mattei, Elisabetta, Cosciotti, Barbara, Cicchetti, Andrea, Soldovieri, Francesco, Cartacci, Marco, Di Paolo, Federico, Noschese, Raffaella, Orosei, Roberto, Multiple subglacial water bodies below the south pole of Mars unveiled by new MARSIS data, Nature Astronomy, September 28, 2020, 5, 63–70, 10.1038/s41550-020-1200-6, Springer Nature Limited, 2010.00870, 222125007, 2397-3366,

2021

• Investigation of orographic cloud extending from Arsia MonsJOURNAL, Hernández-Bernal, J., Sánchez-Lavega, A., del Río-Gaztelurrutia, T., Ravanis, E., Cardesín-Moinelo, A., Connour, K., Tirsch, D., Ordóñez-Etxeberria, I., Gondet, B., Wood, S., Titov, D., March 2021, An Extremely Elongated Cloud over Arsia Mons Volcano on Mars: I. Life Cycle, Journal of Geophysical Research: Planets, 126, 3, 10.1029/2020JE006517, 2103.03919, 2021JGRE..12606517H, 232147554, 2169-9097, volcano
• An experiment to test whether the Mars Express and TGO lander relay communications radio could be used to perform occultation radio scienceWEB, ESA Mars orbiters: two-for-one science – Mars Express,weblink April 11, 2022,
• Tests of data relay from the CNSA Zhurong RoverWEB, Mars Express keeps an ear out for Chinese rover – Mars Express,weblink April 11, 2022,

2022

• The onboard software of the MARSIS experiment was upgraded in order to improve the performance of the instrument.WEB, Software Upgrade for 19-Year-Old Martian Water-Spotter,weblink July 2, 2022, WEB, This Mars Orbiter Is Finally Getting A Software Update From Windows 98, June 29, 2022,weblink July 2, 2022,

2023

• June 3

See also

{{div col|colwidth=30em}}

• {{Annotated link|European Space Agency}}
• {{Annotated link|ExoMars}}
• {{Annotated link|Exploration of Mars}}
• List of Mars orbiters
• List of missions to Mars
• {{Annotated link|Space exploration}}
• {{Annotated link|Uncrewed space mission}}

{{div col end}}

References

{{Reflist}}

External links

{{Commons category}}

• ESA Mars Express project – official website
• ESA Mars Express project – scientific website
• ESA Mars Express operations site
• NASA Art Gallery of Mars Express
• Mars Express article on eoPortal by ESA

Payload principal investigators links

• HRSC Mars Express FU Berlin
• MARSIS Uni Roma "La Sapienza"
• MRSE Uni Köln
• ASPERA

{{Features and artificial objects on Mars}}{{Marsexpress}}{{ESA projects}}{{Planetary Missions Program Office|Discovery=y}}{{Mars spacecraft}} {{Solar System probes}}{{Orbital launches in 2003}}