Posted by jburk to Mars Express at January 4, 2003 12:00 PM

With the planets aligning just right, the European Space Agency is moving forward with plans to launch the Mars Express in June – a precursor to manned missions to the red planet. Later this month, a British-made lander known as the Beagle 2 is scheduled to be delivered to the European Space Agency's primary contractor for the Mars Express spacecraft.