The main objective is to search for sub-surface water from orbit and drop a lander on the Martian surface. The scientific instruments onboard the orbiter will perform a series of remote sensing experiments designed to shed new light on the Martian atmosphere, the planet's structure and geology. After coming to rest on the surface, the lander Beagle 2 will perform exobiology and geochemistry research.
			Mars Express spacecraft named after the Mars planet, the only one in the solar system on which there is a strong possibility of finding life - past, or perhaps present Lander called Beagle 2 named after the ship in which Charles Darwin set sail to explore unchartered areas of the Earth in 1831.
	Type		Mars Express is a three axis stabilized spacecraft with pointing performance 0.15°, carrying the scientific payload inside the spacecraft bus which is a honeycomb aluminum box. The lander, Beagle 2, is attached to one side of the Mars Express spacecraft underneath the umbrella of its heat resistant shield.
	Mass		The launch mass of the spacecraft is 1 042 kg including 427 kg of propellant, 116 kg of science payload, and lander Beagle 2 of 60 kg.
	Size		Orbiter: spacecraft bus is1.5 m long by 1.8 m wide by 1.4 m high. Solar array area is 11.42 m2 Lander: 0.95 m in diameter.
(Mars Express Orbiter)	ASPERA		Energetic Neutral Atoms Analyser will use a technique known as energetic neutral atom imaging to visualise the charged and neutral gas environments around Mars. Principal Investigator for ASPERA is the Swedish Institute of Space Physics in Kiruna.
	HRSC		High/Super Resolution Stereo Colour Imager is a stereoscopic camera that will photograph the Martian surface to reveal detail as small as 2 m. Principal Investigator Prof. Gerhard Neukum, DLR Institut fur Planetenerkundung, Berlin, Germany.
	MaRS		MaRS is the Radio Science Experiment to measure the gravity variations over the Mars surface and to provide pressure and temperature profiles of the atmosphere. Principal Investigator is Dr. Martin Patzold, Universitat Koln, Cologne, Germany.
	MARSIS		Subsurface Sounding Radar/Altimeter designed to map the distribution of water and ice by. analyzing the reflections of radio waves in the upper 2-3 km of Martian crust. Principal Investigator Prof. Giovanni Picardi, Universita di Roma 'La Sapienza', Rome, Italy.
	OMEGA		OMEGA is an Infrared Mineralogical Mapping Spectrometer to determine the mineral content of the Martian surface and the molecular composition of the atmosphere. Principal Investigator Dr. Jean-Pierre Bibring, Institut d'Astrophysique Spatiale, Orsay, France.
	PFS		Planetary Fourier Spectrometer to measure the global atmospheric distribution of water vapour and other minor constituents. Principal Investigator Dr. Vittorio Formisano, Istituto Fisica Spazio Interplanetario, Rome, Italy.
	SPICAM		UV and IR Atmospheric Spectrometer will measure the composition of the Martian atmosphere over smaller volumes than the PFS instrument. Principal Investigator Dr. Jean-Loup Bertaux, Service d'Aeronomie, Verrieres-le-Buisson, France.
(Beagle 2 Lander)
	The gas analysis package		The experiment to detect past or present life by measuring the ratio of carbon-12 and carbon-13 in the carbon dioxide generated by the rock or soil samples. Open University, Milton Keynes, United Kingdom.
	The environmental sensors		A meteorological sensor package will measure atmospheric pressure, air temperature and wind speed and direction. Other sensors will measure UV radiation and oxidising gases in the atmosphere. John Zarneki, also from the Open University, United Kingdom.
	Two stereo cameras		The main task will be to construct a 3D model of the area within reach of the robotic arm. Andrew Coates, Mullard Space Science Laboratories, University College, London, United Kingdom.
	Microscope		It will pick out features just four thousandths of a millimetre across in rock surfaces exposed by the grinder. The microscope's principal investigator Nick Thomas, Max Planck Institut fur Aeronomie, Lindau, Germany.
	Mossbauer spectrometer		Investigation of the mineral composition of rocks and soil by gamma rays spectrometry method. Gostar Klingelhofer, Johannes Gutenberg-University, Mainz, Germany.
	X-ray spectrometer		It will measure the amounts of elements in rocks by bombarding exposed rock surfaces with X-rays. George Fraser, Leicester University, United Kingdom.
	Mole		The mole will collect soil samples for return to the gas analysis package. Lutz Richter, DLR, Cologne, Germany.
	Corer/grinder		To grind the weathered rind off the surface of rocks and then drill down 4 mm to acquire a sample of rock powder for analysis in the gas analysis package. Lutz Richter, DLR, Cologne, Germany.
	Date		Baikonur Cosmodrome in the Republic of Kazakhstan, within an 11 day launch window which opens on 1 June 2003.
	Vehicle		Russian Soyuz Fregat launcher.
			The orbiter will round Mars every 6.7 hours at near polar orbit (inclination of 87°), coming to within 250 km of the surface from a high point of 11 583 km, which will be lowered to 10 243 km after 440 days.
			Operational lifetime of six-month interplanetary journey and 1 Martian year (687 Earth days), nominal mission with a potential extension up to two Martian years. The spacecraft will be controlled by the European Space Operations Control Centre (ESOC) in Darmstadt via the ESA ground station in Perth, Australia.