Mars Express
On December 20 "Mars Express" fired a short thruster burst to put it into position to orbit the planet. The "Mars Express" orbiter then fired its main engine and went into a highly elliptical initial-capture orbit of 250 km × 150,000 km with an inclination of 25 degrees on December 25 at 03:00 UT (10:00 p.m., December 24 EST).