A European probe to Mars is due for launch from Baikonur Cosmodrome in June and will reach the red planet on St Stephen's Day (December 26th). The Mars Express consists of an orbiter that will look for water and a lander named Beagle 2 - after the ship that carried Charles Darwin on his survey mission that inspired him to formulate his theories of evolution. The Beagle 2 will explore the Isidis Planitia, an area that scientists believe may have been flooded in the past.
The probe is named Mars Express partly to reflect the speed with which the mission was put together. The European Spage Agency gave the project the greenlight only four years ago. Because of the fact that research teams are dispersed around Europe, projects typically take eight years to complete.
The ESA needs a success here. In 1996 it contributed to the ill-fated Russian project Mars '96 which never escaped the Earth's gravity well. [SPACE.com]
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