Through ASI , Italy provided two important instruments for the mission ; MARSIS a radar altimeter and the Planetary Fourier Spectrometer which discovered concentrations of methane in the Martian atmosphere .
Mars Express , the first Western European mission to Mars launched in 2003 .
Through ASI , Italy provided two important instruments for the mission ; MARSIS a radar altimeter and the Planetary Fourier Spectrometer which discovered concentrations of methane in the Mars atmosphere .
Mars Express , the first Western European mission to Mars launched in 2003 .