On Mars, found the missing 12 years ago Beagle 2 probe

How learned , on Mars found the missing 25 December 2003 the spacecraft "Beagle 2". Previously it was thought that the module is designed to search for signs of life on the planet, crash-landed (for failures of parachutes and airbags). However, experts NASA found "Beagle 2" with the camera HiRise : machine sat on Mars intact, only failure operation of solar panels, has not released a radio antenna, led to that on Earth lost contact with him.



"Beagle 2" - lander designed to study the mission's "Mars Express" in 2003. Developed by British scientists under the leadership of Colin Pillinger to search for traces of life on Mars. Named in honor of the ship "Beagle" on which Charles Darwin traveled.

Judging by the images, the system has not been fully deployed.

"Without the full deployment is no way to communicate with the probe as a radio antenna was under the solar panels," explained Professor Mark Sims, Beagle Head of Mission of the University of Leicester. Part of the video of the opening can be found здесь.



Beagle 2 is found in less than a year after the death of the principal investigator probe Colin Pillinger . The Royal Society has announced the award in his memory.


The Commission of Inquiry, together with the European Space Agency blamed the failure on poor management and inadequate testing of systems and components. They also recognized that has been allocated too little money for the project.

With a total budget of around £ 50 million, the project remains one of the cheapest interplanetary missions ever created.

Source: geektimes.ru/post/244368/