ESA's Mission To Mars.

The race to discover if life ever existed on Mars, may still survive even, is well ant truly on. Ever increasing numbers of spacecraft, sent by numerous nations, are either orbiting Mars, en-route, or planned to be launched soon.

While the USA, with NASA, undoubtedly lead the way (they do after all have more money) the European Space Agency also has a crucial role to play. Space exploration is becoming a partnership, as it must, and Europe's contribution is critical to NASA's planned manned mission to Mars.

The ESA's primary launch vehicle, Ariane 5, is pictured on the left as it launches from its launch site in Guiana. Capable of lifting a payload of some 21 metric tonnes, with the EVA,into Earth orbit it has proved to be a hugely reliable asset to the European space effort.

The European Space Agency is heavily committed to assisting in the completion and manning of The International Space Station, with several upcoming missions in association with NASA.

The first of these is scheduled for October 2007 when an ESA developed connecting module is to be carried into orbit on the Space Shuttle Discovery and fitted to the ISS. This will be followed two months later, in December, by the launch of Atlantis, carrying the Columbus Laboratory pictured below.

In January 2008 the ESA will launch its first Automated Transport Vehicle, ATV, aboard an Ariane 5 launcher. Pictured below, the 'Jules Verne' will then match orbits and dock with the ISS automatically.

Carrying 7.4 tonnes of supplies it is one of the next generation of spacecraft that will re-supply the ISS after NASA's fleet of ageing Space Shuttle's is retired.