The European Space Agency has sent a spacecraft to Mars

If the Beagle 2 attached to the Mars Express dashpot lands safely, this will remove the so-called "Mars Curse" that struck two American spacecraft in 1999

The European Space Agency sent an unmanned research vehicle to Mars yesterday from the Russian base in Baikonur, to find out if there was life on Mars. "So far everything has worked according to plan. It looks good," said the agency's spokesman after takeoff. Dozens of scientists and journalists gathered at the launch base to watch the last launch in the list of about 30 missions to the Red Planet. Only a handful of these were successful.
The last mission launched outside the US, Russia's Mission 96 to Mars, crashed in the Pacific Ocean after Earth's gravity prevented the launch vehicle from leaving the atmosphere.

So far 20 of the 30 missions to Mars have failed. Mars is bad luck for anyone involved in space exploration, said David Southwood, the European Space Agency's science director. "If we were sailors at sea, I believe we would have many superstitions about the flight to Mars."
Mars Express is carrying the Beagle 2 spacecraft, which is supposed to land in an interesting area and carry a wide variety of scientific instruments that will dig into the Martian soil, analyze the rocks and look for water.
Maybe there was life on Mars in the past? We're going to look for evidence of life in the past, or even microorganisms living today," Southwood said.
After a six-month journey to Mars, the British spacecraft named after the ship that carried Charles Darwin on his journey around the world and whose visit to the Galapagos Islands left an impression on him and ignited the idea of ​​evolution in him. The spacecraft will drop from the European orbit.
Her fall will be slowed by air balloons designed to allow her a soft landing. When stationed it will broadcast the good news with a tune by the British pop band Bloor. If all goes well, the Beagle will be able to transmit its data to Earth via the compass for six months.

"In the international effort to explore the Red Planet in recent years, the European spacecraft Mars Express represents the largest effort to explore Mars so far undertaken by the European Space Agency," the agency's website said.
Science fiction can be an inspiration because one of the main goals of the mission will be to know if humans can survive on the planet. "For me as a scientist, it is important that we take the first step towards a manned mission to Mars that can be launched in 20-25 years." said Southwood.

Mars Express is carrying the Beagle 2 spacecraft, which is supposed to land in an interesting area and carry a wide variety of scientific instruments that will dig into the Martian soil, analyze the rocks and look for water.
Maybe there was life on Mars in the past? We're going to look for evidence of life in the past, or even microorganisms living today," Southwood said.
After a six-month journey to Mars, the British spacecraft named after the ship that carried Charles Darwin on his journey around the world and whose visit to the Galapagos Islands left an impression on him and ignited the idea of ​​evolution in him. The spacecraft will drop from the European orbit.
Her fall will be slowed by air balloons designed to allow her a soft landing. When stationed it will broadcast the good news with a tune by the British pop band Bloor. If all goes well, the Beagle will be able to transmit its data to Earth via the compass for six months.

"In the international effort to explore the Red Planet in recent years, the European spacecraft Mars Express represents the largest effort to explore Mars so far undertaken by the European Space Agency," the agency's website said.
Science fiction can be an inspiration because one of the main goals of the mission will be to know if humans can survive on the planet. "For me as a scientist, it is important that we take the first step towards a manned mission to Mars that can be launched in 20-25 years." said Southwood.