June 2 blast off for Mars express
Date: Friday, May 16 @ 11:55:00 CDT
Topic: 3. Space News
Mars Express, the European mission to the Red Planet which could find the first conclusive proof of extraterrestrial life, will blast off on June 2.
A launch party hosted by BT will take place in London with a live link to the 6.45pm launch in Kazakhstan.
The spacecraft is due to reach Mars in December, where it will go into orbit and deploy the British-led Beagle 2 lander.
Beagle 2 is specifically designed to look for past or present life on Mars.
The probe has a robot arm and "mole" for gathering rock and soil samples, and instruments for identifying the tell-tale signs of life.
Pictures and information will be beamed live to the launch party up until the rocket's upper stage separation 90 minutes after take off.
http://www.ananova.com/news/story/sm_781640.html?menu=news.scienceanddiscovery
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