2.3.1 spase://CNES/Observatory/CDPP-AMDA/MarsExpress Mars Express 2012-06-13T00:00:00Z ESA's Mars Express mission was launched 02-June-2003 and arrived at Mars in December, 2003. A lander, Beagle 2, was deployed on 19-Dec-2003, but communication was lost prior to any science data capture. The main spacecraft went into a polar orbit on 25-Dec-2003, with apogee and perigee altitudes of 11,634 km and 279 km (3.4 and 0.08 Martian radii). The scientific objectives of the 3-axis-stabilized Mars Express Orbiter 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. spase://SMWG/Person/Rudolf.J.Schmidt GeneralContact ESA Mars Express web page http://www.esa.int/SPECIALS/Mars_Express/index.html Mars