EUROPE Space controllers launch Beagle 2 probe, which is to land on Mars on Christmas

An official said the mission seeks 'matter that might provide evidence of life.'
DARMSTADT, Germany (AP) -- European space controllers launched the Beagle 2 probe on its final approach to Mars today, a critical step in Europe's first mission to explore the Red Planet for signs of life.
The British-built probe is scheduled to land on Mars' surface Christmas morning.
"I'm very proud to say we have made a big step toward getting to Mars, but this is really only the beginning," said David Southwood, the European Space Agency's director of science.
In the control room, screens flashed to red more than two hours after the launch was set in motion to confirm the lander was on its way to Mars.
"It was a relief, absolutely, we have all been waiting for this moment for a long time and when our screens lit up we were ecstatic," Mars Express official Zeina Mounzer said.
Mission's purpose
The mission is the first to try to determine if there is life on Mars since the United States sent the Viking I landing craft to Mars' surface in 1976.
"It's not looking for little green men, but it is looking for matter that might provide evidence of life. It is looking for clues," Southwood said earlier.
The probe's launch is the first in a series of critical navigational maneuvers on which the success of the mission depends.
During the launch, the spacecraft gently pushes the probe away, setting it spinning to maintain stability as it heads toward Mars. Early on Dec. 25, the lander is expected to reach the surface.
At the same time the probe is to reach the surface, mission engineers plan to position the Mars Express craft to fire its main engine for about 30 minutes, sending it into Martian orbit, around 250 miles from the surface. Once there, the Express will use radar to penetrate the surface looking for layers of water or ice.
"This if the first time we will be looking under the surface of Mars using radar from Mars Express," Southwood said.
Project manager Rudolf Schmidt had warned that failure to launch the lander could doom the mission. "We just get one single chance," he said.
Of 34 unmanned American, Soviet and Russian missions to Mars since 1960, two-thirds ended in failure. In 1976, twin U.S. Viking landers searched for life but sent back inconclusive results.