Mars Express
Mission overview
Mars Express is ESA's long-lived Mars orbiter, mapping the planet and its moons.
Mission data
Identity and engineering data from Wikidata (type-verified match · Q205672) · launch date 2003-06-02 confirmed
| International designator | 2003-022A | Wikidata · catalogued |
| Operator | European Space Agency | Wikidata · catalogued |
Full field-level provenance
- International designator: Wikidata (Wikimedia Foundation) — community-curated structured knowledge base · Wikidata · wdt · P247 · catalogued value · retrieved 2026-07-11
- Operator: Wikidata (Wikimedia Foundation) — community-curated structured knowledge base · Wikidata · wdt · P137 · catalogued value · retrieved 2026-07-11
Sourced from Wikidata (community-maintained structured data, whose statements link to their own citations where provided); each value carries its Wikidata QID. A field with conflicting Wikidata values is omitted. Launch date is used only to cross-check the catalogue, never to override it. Fields Wikidata did not provide, or where conflicting values exist, are omitted, never invented.
Derived values
Computed from source-backed inputs via standard formulae — not observations. Every input and constant is traced below.
- Time since launch23.1 yearscalculated
Formula & inputs
Formula: Δt = reference − launch (v1.0.0, impl v1.0.0)
Inputs:
- launchDate = 12205 days (JD-like) · ESA
Limitations: A time-dependent value: it is elapsed time as of the stated reference instant, not a fixed total.; Elapsed time since launch is not the same as time spent operating at the target.
Uncertainty: not propagated (inputs carry no catalogued uncertainty)
Computed as of 2026-06-29.
Outcome & discoveries
Detected water ice and mapped the surface and subsurface of Mars.
- ★Confirmation of water ice at the Martian south pole
- ★Detection of methane and subsurface radar mapping
Mission profile
Knowledge connections
- Target ofMars
- Operated byESA
- Launched bySoyuz
- Launched fromBaikonur Cosmodrome
- Mission targetMars
Related missions
| Mission | Type | Agency | Launch | Status |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| BepiColomboMercury | Orbiter | ESA | 2018-10-20 | En route |
| Venus ExpressVenus | Orbiter | ESA | 2005-11-09 | Completed |
| JUICE (Jupiter Icy Moons Explorer)Jupiter and its icy moons | Orbiter | ESA | 2023-04-14 | En route |
| RosettaComet 67P/Churyumov–Gerasimenko | Orbiter and lander | ESA | 2004-03-02 | Completed |
| Solar OrbiterThe Sun | Solar observatory | ESA | 2020-02-10 | Active |
| GaiaSun–Earth L2 | Astrometry observatory | ESA | 2013-12-19 | Completed |
Sources
The primary and reference sources this topic draws on.
- ESAEuropean Space Agency
European missions, observatories, and space science imagery.