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Paris, 5 May 2003
Press Release
Nx 28-2003

ESA's Mars Express ready for launch     

Just before midnight on 2 June (23:45 local time, 19:45 CEST) a Soyuz
rocket operated by Starsem will lift off from the Baikonur
Cosmodrome, and Mars Express will be on its way.  The spacecraft was
given the green light to launch following completion of a successful
flight readiness review on 3 May.

The Mars Express launch window opens on 23 May and lasts only four
weeks. However, just before the spacecraft was due to leave Toulouse,
France, for its trip to Baikonur in Kazakhstan, engineers discovered
a fault in one of the electronics modules.  "Of course, it was the
most difficult box to remove from the spacecraft," says with a smile
Rudi Schmidt, Mars Express Project Manager.

In view of the estimated time needed to correct the fault, the launch
date was initially put back from 23 May to 6 June, still within the
launch window.  However, thanks to the skill and dedication of the
engineering team, the job was completed sooner than expected and the
launch date was brought forward.

Mars Express is currently being fuelled, an operation that takes
about a week.  It will then be attached to Fregat, the Soyuz upper
stage rocket booster, and mated with the Soyuz rocket.  The whole
system will be rolled out to the pad four days before launch.  The
journey to Mars will take six months and the spacecraft should enter
its Martian orbit on 26 December. 

Europe's contribution to the exploration of the Red Planet will begin
soon.

For more information please contact:

ESA Communication Department
Media Relations Office
Paris, France
Tel: +33(0)15369 7155
Fax: +33(0)1 5369 7690

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