Editing Mars Express (section)

== Background ==
The ''Mars Express'' mission is dedicated to the study of the interior, subsurface, surface, atmosphere, and environment of the planet Mars. The spacecraft carried seven scientific instruments, a small lander, a lander relay, and a [[Visual Monitoring Camera]], all designed to contribute to solving the [[Water on Mars|mystery of Mars' missing water]].

Some of the instruments on the orbiter, including the camera systems and some [[spectrometers]], reuse designs from the failed launch of the Russian ''[[Mars 96]]'' mission in 1996<ref name=":0" /> (European countries had provided much of the instrumentation and financing for that unsuccessful mission). The scientific objectives of the ''Mars Express''  represent an attempt to fulfill in part the lost scientific goals of this failed Russian mission, complemented by exobiology research with Beagle-2.<ref>{{Cite web |title=Mars Express en route for the Red Planet |url=https://www.esa.int/Newsroom/Press_Releases/Mars_Express_en_route_for_the_Red_Planet |access-date=2025-05-20 |website=www.esa.int |language=en}}</ref>

The design of ''Mars Express'' is based on ESA's [[Rosetta space probe|''Rosetta'' mission]], on which a considerable sum was spent on development. The same design was also used for ESA's ''[[Venus Express]]'' mission in order to increase reliability and reduce development cost and time.

The total initial ''Mars Express'' budget excluding the lander was [[euro|€]]150 million.<ref name="esa31021">{{cite web |date=March 29, 2011 |title=Mars Express: Summary |url=http://sci.esa.int/mars-express/31021-summary/ |publisher=European Space Agency}}</ref><ref name="nasa2003-022A">{{cite web |title=Mars Express |url=https://nssdc.gsfc.nasa.gov/nmc/spacecraft/display.action?id=2003-022A |access-date=December 7, 2018 |work=NSSDC ID: 2003-022A |publisher=NASA}}</ref> The prime contractor for the construction of ''Mars Express'' orbiter was [[EADS Astrium Satellites]].