Europe sets sights on Venus while eagerly awaiting Mars landing
As Europe's Mars Express makes its way towards the Red Planet, thoughts are already turning to orbiting another planet. An agreement signed by the European Space Agency (ESA) and the European-Russian company Starsem on 17 June has given the go-ahead for the launch of Venus Express in November 2005. The Russian Soyuz launch vehicle will send the Venus Express into space from the Baikonur Cosmodrome in Kazakhstan. As with the Mars Express, the spacecraft will use remote sensing to provide data on the atmosphere, the surface and up to five kilometres below the ground. In the meantime, all eyes are on the first attempt by Europe to explore another planet. While the Mars Express will orbit the planet, Beagle 2, which will be ejected from the Mars Express, will be the first object on Mars since two NASA probes landed in the 1970s. The Mars Express was not originally intended to carry a lander, explained ESA's director of science, David Southwood, on 17 June, but once Beagle 2 was built, it was logical that it should hitch a lift on the ESA spacecraft. 'It's one thing to look at Mars, another thing to actually scratch and sniff,' said Mr Southwood. Beagle 2, expected to land on Christmas Day, will dig under the surface, fill a container with material and then heat it in order to see what is given off. It is hoped that the expedition will also provide information on the history of Mars. It is believed that there was once water on the planet, as well as an atmosphere. These conditions would, in theory, have enabled life forms to exist. 'In the solar system, there are only one or two places where life could have existed. After Earth, Mars is the next best place,' said Mr Southwood. What worries scientists is the fact that the planet lost its atmosphere. Some believe that a collision may have been responsible for this as there is a large dent in one side of Mars. 'This is very worrying for me,' said Mr Southwood. He added however, that simply contemplating the possibility of life on Mars in the past and the reasons for the ending of that life is futile: 'It's no use me speculating, what we have to do with this mission is to decode the evidence,' he said. Landing a robot on Mars is, however, no easy feat. Mars Express will send Beagle 2 towards the planet, then there will be a two day gap before scientists know whether the landing has been successful. It is hoped that the robot will land on its airbags and then start sending out a signal. The Mars Express then has to be manoeuvred into the correct position to receive the signal. Mr Southwood confessed that he will be 'very nervous' during this period. 'Mars has a particularly noxious history,' he said. 'We have done everything we can to ensure it lands, but I will feel much happier in the New Year!'