Mars Express to blast off in June
Mars Express, the European mission to the Red Planet which could find the first conclusive proof of extraterrestrial life, will blast off on June 2, it was confirmed today.
A launch party hosted by BT will take place in London with a live link to the 6.45pm launch in Kazakhstan.
The spacecraft is due to reach Mars in December, where it will go into orbit and deploy the British-led Beagle 2 lander.
Beagle 2 is specifically designed to look for past or present life on Mars.
The probe has a robot arm and “mole” for gathering rock and soil samples, and instruments for identifying the tell-tale signs of life.
Pictures and information will be beamed live to the launch party up until the rocket’s upper stage separation 90 minutes after take off.
