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Mars Express

Adapted from Wikipedia · Explorer experience

A colorful view of a dust storm over the North Polar Cap of Mars, captured by the ESA Mars Express mission.

Mars Express

Mars Express is a special trip into space made by the European Space Agency (ESA). It has been flying around the planet Mars since 2003, helping us learn about this red planet and its tiny moons. It was the first mission of its kind by ESA.

Mars Express has two parts: the Mars Express Orbiter and Beagle 2, a small lander. The orbiter is like a flying camera and scientist. It takes pictures of Mars, looks for minerals, studies the air around Mars, and even looks under the surface to find hidden water. Even though the lander didn’t work as planned, the orbiter has been sending important information since 2004.

The name “Express” means the spacecraft was built quickly and had a fast trip to Mars. This is because Earth and Mars were very close when the spacecraft was launched.

Mars Express helps other space trips by acting like a messenger between Mars and Earth. It has worked with spacecraft from many countries, like NASA, Roscosmos, China, and Japan. This makes it a very important part of exploring Mars.

Even after more than 22 years, Mars Express is still going strong. It is the second longest-working spacecraft around a planet that is not Earth. Scientists love it because it keeps giving us new pictures and facts about the mysterious red planet.

Images

A model of the Beagle 2 spacecraft on display at the London Science Museum.
The Beagle 2 lander separating from the Mars Express spacecraft on its mission to explore the surface of Mars.
An artist's illustration of the Mars Express spacecraft showing its large MARSIS antenna, used to study the surface of Mars.
A colorful, detailed view of Mars' surface showing part of Valles Marineris, also known as the Grand Canyon of Mars, captured by a camera on the Mars Express orbiter.
A colorful view of the Louth Crater on Mars, captured by a camera on the Mars Express spacecraft.
A fascinating view of a natural formation on Mars called the 'Face on Mars,' captured by a space probe. This image shows a unique landscape in the Cydonia region of the red planet.
A photograph of the Martian moon Phobos taken by a spacecraft orbiting Mars.
A colorful view of the Orcus Patera valley on Mars, captured by a camera on the Mars Express spacecraft.
A detailed image of Phobos, one of Mars' moons, captured by the ESA's Mars Express spacecraft.
Animation showing the path of the Mars Express spacecraft orbiting the Sun.
Animation showing the path of the Mars Express spacecraft orbiting the planet Mars between 2003 and 2010.
An image of the Mars Express spacecraft taken from another orbiting spacecraft around Mars, showing how scientists study our cosmic neighborhood.
An image of the Mars Express spacecraft as seen from the Mars Global Surveyor orbiting Mars, showing the spacecraft as a narrow blur due to the distance and motion between the two spacecraft.

Related articles

Mars
European Space Agency
Spacecraft

This article is a child-friendly adaptation of the Wikipedia article on Mars Express, available under CC BY-SA 4.0.

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