Beagle-2 story on TV

[Rick]

Aye. A fine Jester he is.

[Ian]

now that is a completely different proposition. If I sent him a hat and a pigs bladder on a stick, do you think he'd wear it during questiontime?

[Rick]

At least it'd add a little honesty to the proceedings...

[Mike]

The scientist behind the British Beagle 2 mission to the Red Planet says the craft may have been found in pictures of the Martian surface.

Colin Pillinger says the images suggest the mission very nearly worked, but Beagle somehow failed to contact Earth.

He thinks the craft may have hit the ground too hard - as the atmosphere was thinner than usual because of dust storms in that region of Mars.

For the full story cick here - http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/sci/tech/4542174.stm

[Mike]

Found an intersting site regarding evidence for the Beagle 2 crash/landing site - http://www.beagle2.com/index.htm

[Rick]

"It'll be like Steve Fossett all over again, only worse," said one embittered Reg hack on hearing the news that NASA has decided to send Beagle to the moon.

Yes, Beagle, the little lander that either couldn't, wouldn't or didn't, manage to land on Mars might be about to be resurrected and packed off to the Moon.

More: http://www.theregister.co.uk/2007/09/24/nasa_loves_beagle/

[mickw]

Possibly..................

Has Europe's Long-Lost Beagle 2 Mars Lander Been Found?

The U.K. Space Agency is holding a news conference Friday (Jan. 16) about Europe's Beagle 2 Mars lander, prompting speculation that the probe has finally been found more than 11 years after dropping off scientists' radar during its journey to the Red Planet.

The U.K.-led Beagle 2 was supposed to touch down on Dec. 25, 2003. The lander successfully deployed from the European Space Agency's (ESA) Mars Express orbiter on Dec. 19 of that year, but no touchdown confirmation came, and most experts think Beagle 2 crashed on the Red Planet's surface.

More:  http://www.space.com/28248-mars-lander-beagle-2-update.html

Watch this space

[Rick]

Lost Beagle2 probe found 'intact' on Mars

The missing Mars robot Beagle2 has been found on the surface of the Red Planet, apparently intact.

High-resolution images taken from orbit have identified its landing location, and it looks to be in one piece.

The UK-led probe tried to make a soft touchdown on the dusty world on Christmas Day, 2003, using parachutes and airbags - but no radio contact was ever made with the probe.

Many scientists assumed it had been destroyed in a high-velocity impact.

The new pictures, acquired by Nasa's Mars Reconnaissance Orbiter, give the lie to that notion, and hint at what really happened to the European mission.

Beagle's design incorporated a series of deployable "petals", on which were mounted its solar panels.

From the images, it seems that this system did not unfurl fully.

More: http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/science-environment-30784886

[Rick]

...and a video from Leicester University: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=iAKAJR4N6zQ

[Mike]

Interesting. So the little Beagle 2 did make it down safely to the surface but failed to fold open properly. What a shame.

[Rick]

'Lost' 2003 Mars Lander Found by Mars Reconnaissance Orbiter

The Beagle 2 Mars Lander, built by the United Kingdom, has been thought lost on Mars since 2003, but has now been found in images from NASA's Mars Reconnaissance Orbiter.

A set of three observations with the orbiter's High Resolution Imaging Science Experiment (HiRISE) camera shows Beagle 2 partially deployed on the surface of the planet, ending the mystery of what happened to the mission more than a decade ago. They show that the lander survived its Dec. 25, 2003, touchdown enough to at least partially deploy its solar arrays.

Beagle 2 hitched a ride to Mars on the European Space Agency's long-lived Mars Express mission. It was a collaboration between industry and academia designed to deliver world-class science from the surface of the Red Planet.

More:  http://www.jpl.nasa.gov/news/news.php?feature=4446