MARS EXPRESS OPERATIONAL CHALLENGES AND FIRST RESULTS

摘要

MARS Express is the European Space Agency's first Planetary Mission and the first Flexi-mission, executed under tight schedule and demanding financial conditions. Built within five years and with a fixed launch date, Mars Express was successfully launched on 2nd June 2003 on its seven month journey to Mars. Equipped with a comprehensive set of instruments to perform a detailed analysis of the planet's surface, atmosphere and subsurface structure, it also carried a lander to perform surface measurements. Following a challenging cruise to Mars, the lander was successfully targeted and on Christmas day Mars Express captured into orbit around Mars. The reduced power availability coupled with long eclipses dictated a late change in the initial orbit and a re-planning of the initial operations. This has ensured that the initial results from the mission have been exceptional and with the deployment of the subsurface radar promise to continue delivering exciting science. As Europe's first mission to Mars, combined with the complex and challenging mission profile to meet the high scientific expectations, the operations have been demanding and required new approaches to managing the mission. The paper describes the mission, its goals, the challenges that have been faced and some of the initial achievements.