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Science Operations

What is the Science Operations Phase?

The science operations phase for the orbiter is the period of time when the spacecraft will use its scientific instruments to study the martian environment.

The seven instruments on the Mars Express orbiter will make observations from the main spacecraft as its polar orbit gradually moves around to give global coverage over the mission's expected lifetime of nearly two Earth years (one Martian year). This mission phase is scheduled to last from March 11, 2004 to November 30, 2005.

For more information, see the Science section on this site, or the European Space Agency's Mars Express science section.

U.S. Participation During Orbiter Operations

U.S. scientists on the instrument teams will be working with their European colleagues on the overall science goal of this mission: to understand the possibilities for past or present life on Mars by conducting a thorough search for water. U.S. scientists will help research by understanding what geological structures and minerals on Mars might have been formed by water, the extent of subsurface water, and what the atmosphere can tell us about the martian climate and how much water might have been lost to space in the past.

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