Europe launched its first ever bid to explore Mars yesterday, successfully embarking on a half-year journey to unearth one of the oldest mysteries; whether there is life on the Red Planet.

Ninety minutes after liftoff from the Russian space base in Baikonur, Kazakhstan, the orbiter - carrying the "Beagle 2" lander - separated from an unmanned Soyuz rocket and began its 400 million kilometre trip to uncover the mystery of life on Mars.

If all goes according to plan, on Christmas Day the Beagle-2, named after the ship that took Charles Darwin on a quest for the origins of life, will land on the planet and begin its exploration.

The successful launch marked Europe's official entry into the interplanetary travel club, ESA scientific director David Southwood said following liftoff at 11:45pm (3.45am AEST).

"This is our first step. We are off to a great start," Southwood said.

"Europe is off to Mars ... We can be proud of the speed with which we managed to rise up to that challenge."

Professor John Zarnecki from Britain, part of the Beagle 2 team, told Britain's Sky News television he was pleased with the launch but added there was a long way to go before the probe reached its destination.

"Inside I was feeling incredibly nervous, but so far, as far as we can tell, everything looks fantastic," he said.

"We have a lot of hurdles to get over before we get to that final goal of landing on the surface of Mars and starting to make scientific measurements which is really what us scientists really want to do - that's the purpose for us being here."

Full Article:
The Age