A European Space Agency mission to Mars; it is the first fully European mission to any planet, so named because the spacecraft was built and launched in record time and at a much lower cost than previous, similar missions into outer space. Launched on 2 June 2003, Mars Express went into polar orbit around the planet on 25 December 2003. Since then, the spacecraft has obtained high-resolution images of the surface and studied the atmosphere and subsurface, as well as their interaction. The first data from Mars Express in January 2004 were a direct measurement of water present in the Martian ice caps. The science payload includes seven experiments, using such measures as subsurface radar, neutral and charged particle sensors, and spectrometers. The spacecraft’s webcam alone has captured 21 000 images taken between 2007 and 2016, 300 of which are being used to study high water-ice clouds between 400 km and 1 500 km above the planet’s surface.

Mars Express has made several important discoveries, including evidence of long periods of flowing liquid water, possible methane in the atmosphere (which could originate from biological or geological activity), landforms shaped by recent glaciers, evidence for volcanism only 2 million years young, and a localized aurora.

Mounted on top of the Mars Express orbiter was the Beagle 2 lander to study the surface, but communications failed after it touched down on 25 December 2003. As of December 2017, the orbiter continues its highly successful ongoing global investigation of Mars and its two moons, Phobos and Deimos.

http://sci.esa.int/science-e/www/area/index.cfm?fareaid=9 Full details and news of the European Mars Express mission. The scientific goals of the mission are outlined and the orbiter's sensor payload described. Among the site's resources are a news archive and image gallery. There is also a webcam.