Posted: Mon, Jun 2, 2003, 7:03 PM ET (2303 GMT)
A Russian Soyuz booster successfully launched Monday a European Mars orbiter and a British-built Mars lander. The Soyuz lifted off on schedule at 1:45 pm EDT (1745 GMT) from the Baikonur Cosmodrome in Kazakhstan. The Mars Express orbiter and Beagle 2 lander separated from the Soyuz's Fregat upper stage 92 minutes after liftoff, after the Fregat placed the spacecraft on a trajectory towards Mars. The spacecraft will take nearly seven months to travel to Mars, arriving at the planet in late December. The Beagle 2 lander is scheduled to separate from Mars Express on December 20 and land five days later, on Christmas Day. Mars Express will enter orbit around the planet around the same time and operate for at least one Martian year (687 days). the two spacecraft are the first European missions to Mars.

Related Links:

•  ESA press release
•  BBC article
•  AP article
•  SPACE.com article
•  Reuters article