25 Dec
2003
25 Dec
'03
1:07 a.m.
Mars Express enters orbit around the Red Planet Contact awaited with Beagle 2 on the surface This morning, after a journey lasting 205 days and covering 400 million kilometres, the European Mars Express space probe fired its main engine at 03:47 CET for a 37-minute burn in order to enter an orbit around the Mars. This orbit insertion manoeuvre was a complete success. The Beagle 2 lander is expected to have reached the surface at about 03:52 CET. However, the first attempt to communicate with Beagle 2, three hours after landing did not establish radio contact. http://www.esa.int/SPECIALS/Mars_Express/SEMAD8374OD_0.html