On Saturday at 11:50 CET [1050 UTC], flight controllers at the European Space Operations Centre in Darmstadt confirmed the success of a crucial repointing manoeuvre, setting Mars Express on its final course for Mars Orbit Insertion.
Yesterday, in order to send Beagle 2 on its way to a Mars landing, Mars Express first had to be steered onto a collision course with the planet.
Saturday's manoeuvre successfully redirected the spacecraft away from Mars, back to a point 400 kilometres above the surface, where it is due to enter orbit early on Christmas Day.
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Spirit Heading To 'Home Plate'
Pasadena CA (JPL) Jan 09, 2006
Last week Spirit completed robotic-arm work on "El Dorado." The rover used all three of its spectrometers plus the microscopic imager for readings over the New Year's weekend.
