The European Space Agency (ESA) launched the Mars Express on June 2, 2003 from the Baikonur Cosmodrome in Kazakhstan. Mars Express has a small orbiter and a lander called Beagle 2. The orbiter will search for subsurface water and collect information on other environmental factors. The lander will provide surface imagery and analysis of soils and rocks. Its robotic arm can grind and core rocks. It can deploy a burrowing device to retrieve soil samples.

NASA launched the Mars Exploration Rover Spirit from Cape Canaveral on June 10, 2003. It’s the first of two Mars Exploration Rovers. Spirit carries its instrumentation on board and has a much farther traveling range than any earlier rovers built by NASA. Its robotic arm contains a microscope, spectrometers, and a rock abrasion tool to study the historical climate and the presence of surface water at its landing site.

Beagle 2 will land on Christmas Day 2003, Mars Express will be in orbit the next day, and Spirit will land one week later on January 2, 2004.