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CNN Live At Daybreak
Europe to Launch Mars Mission Today
Aired June 02, 2003 - 05:53 ET
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
CAROL COSTELLO, CNN ANCHOR: And now to outer space. Later today, a rocket will take off in Kazakhstan carrying the Mars Express. It's Europe's first mission to the red planet.
CNN's Ryan Chilcote has our story.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
RYAN CHILCOTE, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): In sterile laboratories around the globe, white cloaked scientists are quietly, but intensively, competing to answer a crucial question -- is there life on Mars?
The European Space Agency's Mars Express leading the pack, edging out a Martian probe NASA hopes to launch later this month. These the first of several probes expected to land on the red planet's surface over the next decade.
In the search for extraterrestrial life, Mars remains the destination of choice.
(on camera): On Earth, life is inextricably linked with water in all its forms. That's why looking for water will be the central mission of Mars Express. It may just lead to the discovery of life on the red planet.
ALIAN FOURNIER-SICRE, EUROPEAN SPACE AGENCY: We believe that there is still water embedded in the planet and maybe some, you know, creatures which might be at a certain level of life. Of course, we didn't discover yet, but there is a big question mark.
CHILCOTE: Mars Express hopes to answer that question with two spacecraft that will work in tandem. Its land roving Beagle 2 will parachute into the planet's atmosphere equipped with cameras to collect Martian samples with a drill souped up for space and a radar system that allows it to look well beneath the surface. Overhead, the Mars Express' main body will orbit the planet, taking pictures and relaying data to scientists back in planet Earth. The Express won't make it, if it makes it at all, to the red planet, until late in December, and the Beagle can only move about 10 human steps an hour. But many scientists still believe we will soon know if life exists beyond this world.
FOURNIER-SICRE: I think we are very close. In 10, 15 years, it will be, you know, quite evident if there are forms of life.
CHILCOTE: Once the Express gets there, it will roam for nearly two years. But right now the focus is on getting the project off the ground.
Ryan Chilcote, CNN, Moscow.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
TO ORDER A VIDEO OF THIS TRANSCRIPT, PLEASE CALL 800-CNN-NEWS OR USE OUR SECURE ONLINE ORDER FORM LOCATED AT www.fdch.com
Aired June 2, 2003 - 05:53 ET
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
CAROL COSTELLO, CNN ANCHOR: And now to outer space. Later today, a rocket will take off in Kazakhstan carrying the Mars Express. It's Europe's first mission to the red planet.
CNN's Ryan Chilcote has our story.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
RYAN CHILCOTE, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): In sterile laboratories around the globe, white cloaked scientists are quietly, but intensively, competing to answer a crucial question -- is there life on Mars?
The European Space Agency's Mars Express leading the pack, edging out a Martian probe NASA hopes to launch later this month. These the first of several probes expected to land on the red planet's surface over the next decade.
In the search for extraterrestrial life, Mars remains the destination of choice.
(on camera): On Earth, life is inextricably linked with water in all its forms. That's why looking for water will be the central mission of Mars Express. It may just lead to the discovery of life on the red planet.
ALIAN FOURNIER-SICRE, EUROPEAN SPACE AGENCY: We believe that there is still water embedded in the planet and maybe some, you know, creatures which might be at a certain level of life. Of course, we didn't discover yet, but there is a big question mark.
CHILCOTE: Mars Express hopes to answer that question with two spacecraft that will work in tandem. Its land roving Beagle 2 will parachute into the planet's atmosphere equipped with cameras to collect Martian samples with a drill souped up for space and a radar system that allows it to look well beneath the surface. Overhead, the Mars Express' main body will orbit the planet, taking pictures and relaying data to scientists back in planet Earth. The Express won't make it, if it makes it at all, to the red planet, until late in December, and the Beagle can only move about 10 human steps an hour. But many scientists still believe we will soon know if life exists beyond this world.
FOURNIER-SICRE: I think we are very close. In 10, 15 years, it will be, you know, quite evident if there are forms of life.
CHILCOTE: Once the Express gets there, it will roam for nearly two years. But right now the focus is on getting the project off the ground.
Ryan Chilcote, CNN, Moscow.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
TO ORDER A VIDEO OF THIS TRANSCRIPT, PLEASE CALL 800-CNN-NEWS OR USE OUR SECURE ONLINE ORDER FORM LOCATED AT www.fdch.com
