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Baikonur (pte041/02.06.2003/15:37) - If everything goes as planned, Europe's first mission to the Red Planet will take off today, Monday, in Kazakhstan. The launch is scheduled to take place at 7:45 PM at the Baikonur Cosmodrome.
The Mars Express probe and its "Beagle 2" lander, named after Charles Darwin's ship The Beagle, will be lifted into space on a Sojuz-Fregat rocket.
Thanks to an especially advantageous launch window between 23 May and 21 June, the ambitious mission could reach the Red Planet within six months. The window, during which the Earth and Mars come closest to each other, only occurs every 15 to 17 years.
The European Space Agency (ESA) http://www.esa.int hopes the project will better situate Europe in the world of space exploration. Even though the European scientists have been working together closely with NASA, which is running a parallel mission, the effort has been stylised as a "space race" between the United States and Europe.
The Mars Express probe was financed by a consortium of 24 companies under the direction of the European Astrium satellite group. ESA focused mainly on test runs and security checks on the probe. According to ESA, this 'management approach' to the project helped save time and money, and will be used on other missions.
The flight of the probe and landing of Beagle 2 will be monitored by ESA's space centre in Darmstadt, Germany. The two-year can be followed on the Internet under http://sci2.esa.int/spacecam/marsexpress.htm .
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