API VERSION: 1.2
API SOURCE: NASA/JPL Horizons API

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 Revised: Sep 01, 2026              Mars Express / (Sun)                    -41 
                            http://sci.esa.int/marsexpress/
                  http://space.about.com/od/spacemissions/p/beagle2.htm
 
 LAUNCH DATE:                                             MARS ARRIVAL DATE:
  June 02, 2003                                            December, 2003 

 LAUNCH VEHICLE:
  This European Space Agency (ESA) mission was launched on a Soyuz-Fregat 
  launch vehicle from Baikonur, Kazakhstan.

 BACKGROUND:
  Mars Express will remain in orbit around Mars for at least one martian 
  year (687 Earth days). During this time, the pericenter will move to give 
  the scientific instruments coverage of the entire martian surface from
  different viewing angles.

  After a 5 day descent, Beagle 2 will land on Isidis Planitia, a large, flat 
  sedimentary basin straddling the relatively young northern plains and ancient 
  southern highlands, where traces of life could have been preserved. The 
  landing site (10.6N, 270W) is at low latitude to minimise the amount of 
  insulation (and thus mass) needed to protect the lander from the cold martian
  night. The nominal lander life-time is 180 days. 

  UPDATE: The Beagle 2 lander was lost. No signals were received after 
    separation from Mars Express 2003-Dec-19. It would have entered the 
    Martian atmosphere at 20,000 km/hr on 2003-Dec-25, but it is not 
    known if any part of the landing sequence executed.

 SPACECRAFT PHYSICAL PROPERTIES:
  Orbiter mass       = 113  kg           Lander mass       =   60 kg
  Total launch mass  = 1223 kg

 BASIC ORBIT PARAMETERS:
  Inclination: 86.3 deg                   pericentre       =    258 km
  Period     : 6h 43m                     apocentre        = 11 560 km

 SPACECRAFT TRAJECTORY (from ESA):
  Reconstructed trajectory based on tracking data through 2026-Aug-27.
  The trajectory thereafter is a prediction.

   Name                                 Start (TDB)          Stop (TDB)
   ----------------------------      -----------------    -----------------
   ORHM_______________00030          2003-Jun-02 19:13    2003-Dec-22 18:09
   ORMM_031222180906-260901          2003-Dec-22 18:09    2026-Sep-24 14:46
   ORMF_______________01965          2026-Sep-24 14:46    2032-Dec-31 23:59
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