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European Space Agency

Press Release

Driving force behind Mars Express
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22 November 2002

The Ferrari Red Paint will not be the only thing breaking all speed
records when it hurtles towards the Red Planet on-board the Mars
Express spacecraft in 2003. The spacecraft itself has already broken
some speed records of its own. Mars Express is the fastest-built
satellite of its type in the history of space engineering. 

The unique way in which ESA drove the Mars Express project cut the
amount of time from the original concept to actually putting
contractors to work from the usual five years to just one year.
Moreover, two years were shaved off the design and building phase -
cutting it from the usual six to four years. However, there has been
no compromise on the quality of the mission.

By stepping on the accelerator in this way, ESA has also cut the cost
of the mission in half. Mars Express will have been built and launched 
with a total budget of 203 million Euros (at 2001 economic
conditions). This budget pays for the building of the spacecraft, the
launch by a Russian Soyuz-Fregat launcher, all the scientific
operations and administration cost, and the elaborate series of tests
that any satellite has to endure to ensure its effectiveness.

Although these costs show good value for money, Mars Express has
maintained strict quality on its engineering. Scientists built the
spacecraft largely using technology that has already been developed
for other space missions. Up to 80% of the hardware making up Mars
Express was originally designed for Rosetta, ESA's satellite that will 
be the first in history to land on a comet.

The name 'Mars Express' perfectly sums up the extremely efficient way
that ESA has steered the mission. However, the original 'Express' name 
was for a quite different reason. Scientists chose the name to reflect 
the fact that by being launched in the Summer of 2003, the spacecraft 
will have the shortest journey to reach the Red Planet. It is at that 
moment that Earth and Mars make their closest approach to each other 
for 17 years.

The same 'Express' name has been given to the Venus Express mission.
Venus Express, due for launch in November 2005, will reuse the Mars
Express spacecraft design. It will also benefit from the project teams 
already established both at ESA and industry-wide, to reduce costs 
substantially.

The success of the Mars Express project is a demonstration of how
ESA's working methods are changing. In addition, ESA has launched a
new initiative called DevILS that will cut costs and building times
even further. The aim of DevILS is to develop 'intelligent',
lightweight spacecraft systems that ESA can use on future missions.

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