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Mars Express - Spacecraft & Payload Operations
Mars Express
(MEX) is Europe’s first mission to the Red Planet and also the
first full European mission to any planet. The European Space
Operations Centre (ESOC) is responsible for all the operational
aspects of MEX. The operational control from ESOC started shortly
after lift-off of Soyuz/Fregat from Baikonur on 2nd June 2003,
initially preparing the spacecraft for the Mars Orbit Insertion and
deployment of the Beagle-2 lander in December 2003. Now the
spacecraft, orbiting around Mars, is performing science
observation.
Engineering support for such a mission starts up to three to
four years before launch, continuing through the commissioning and
operational phases, till end of life. Mars Express is one of 18
missions being supported by the VEGA Flight Control Team based at
ESOC in Darmstadt, Germany. Our team, forming the main core of
spacecraft operations engineers, provides around the clock support,
365 days a year.
In the case of Mars Express (a low cost mission), where the
Flight Control Team is relatively small, compared to other space
missions, we have provided spacecraft engineers with long and
extensive operational experience in order to assume a number of
roles in parallel. The VEGA team comprises of engineers having
previously supported the ERS-1, ERS-2, CLUSTER, CLUSTER-2, ENVISAT,
EURECA, MSG-1 and HIPPARCOS missions.
The support that VEGA delivers on each ESA mission is unique and
in response to our customers needs, which also change over the life
span of the project. In the case of the Mars Express mission, our
team has and is providing the following support:
Mars Express successfully attained orbit of Mars in December
2003 and is currently sending back high quality information on the
'red planet'. For more information on Mars Express, visit
ESA's website.