Information AboutBeagle 2 |
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| mars spacecraft | |
| european space agency | |
| european space agency probes | |
| inactive extraterrestrial land probes | |
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''Beagle 2'' was an unsuccessful British landing spacecraft that formed part of the European Space Agency 's 2003 '' Mars Express '' mission. BACKGROUND ''Beagle 2'' was conceived by a group of British academics headed by Professor Colin Pillinger of the Open University , in collaboration with the University Of Leicester . Its purpose was to search for signs of Martian Life , past or present, and its name reflected this goal, as Professor Pillinger explained: :'" ''HMS ''Beagle ''was the ship that took Darwin on his voyage around the world in the 1830s and led to our knowledge about life on Earth making a real Quantum Leap . We hope ''Beagle 2'' will do the same thing for life on Mars ''." A point at 10.6°N, 270°W in Isidis Planitia , a large flat Sedimentary Basin that overlies the boundary between the ancient highlands and the northern plains of Mars, was chosen as the landing site. The lander was expected to operate for about 180 days and an extended mission of up to one Martian Year (687 Earth days) was thought possible. The ''Beagle 2'' lander objectives were to characterize the landing site Geology , Mineralogy , Geochemistry and Oxidation State , the physical properties of the Atmosphere and surface layers, collect data on Martian Meteorology and Climatology , and search for possible signatures of life. Pillinger set up a consortium to design and build Beagle 2. The principal members and their initial responsibilities were:
In 2000, when the main development phase started, Astrium took over responsibility for programme management, and Leicester assumed responsibility for mission management which involved the preparations for the operations post launch and the operations control centre. In an effort to publicise the project and gain financial support, its designers sought and received the endorsement and participation of British artists. The mission's call-sign was composed by the band Blur , and the test card intended for calibrating Beagle 2's cameras after landing was painted by Damien Hirst . The Lander Operations Control Centre (LOCC) was located at the National Space Centre in Leicester , from which the Spacecraft was being controlled, and was open to the public. SPACECRAFT AND SUBSYSTEMS ''Beagle 2'' had a robotic arm known as the Payload Adjustable Workbench (PAW), designed to be extended after landing. The PAW contained a pair of Stereo cameras, a Microscope (with a 6 Micrometre resolution), a Mössbauer Spectrometer , an X-ray Spectrometer , a drill for collecting rock samples and a spotlamp. Rock samples were to be passed by the PAW into a Mass Spectrometer and Gas Chromatograph in the body of the lander, to measure the relative proportions of different Isotope s of Carbon . Since carbon is thought to be the basis of all life, these readings could have revealed whether the samples contained the remnants of living organisms. In addition, ''Beagle 2'' was equipped with a small " Mole " (Planetary Undersurface Tool, or PLUTO), to be deployed by the arm. PLUTO had a compressed Spring mechanism designed to enable it to move across the surface at a rate of about 1 cm every 5 seconds and to burrow into the ground and collect a subsurface sample in a cavity in its tip. The mole was attached to the lander by a power cable which could be used as a winch to bring the sample back to the lander. The robot arm was equipped with a grinder and corer, a device to collect a core sample from inside any rocks within reach of the robot arm. The lander had the shape of a shallow bowl with a diameter of 0.65 m and a depth of 0.25 m. The cover of the lander was hinged and folded open to reveal the interior of the craft which holds a UHF antenna, the 0.75 m long Robot arm, and the scientific equipment. The main body also contained the battery, Telecommunication s, electronics, and central processor, and the heaters. The lid itself further unfolded to expose four disk-shaped Solar Array s. The lander package had a mass of 69 kg at launch but the actual lander would have been only 33.2 kg at touchdown. MISSION PROFILE ''Mars Express'' launched from , Parachute s were to be deployed and about 1 km above the surface large Airbag s were to inflate around the lander and protect it when it hit the surface. Landing was expected to occur at about 02:45 UT on 25 December (9:45 p.m. EST 24 December). After landing the bags were supposed to deflate and the top of the lander was to open. The top should have unfolded to expose the four solar array disks. Within the body of the lander a UHF antenna was to be deployed. A signal was supposed to be sent to ''Mars Express'' after landing and another the next (local) morning to confirm that ''Beagle 2'' survived the landing and the first night on Mars. A panoramic image of the landing area was then supposed to be taken using the stereo camera and a pop-up mirror, after which the lander arm would have been released. The lander arm was to dig up samples to be deposited in the various instruments for study, and the "mole" would have been deployed, crawling across the surface to a distance of about 3 metres from the lander and burrowing under rocks to collect soil samples for analysis. The British government spent more than £22 million ($40 million U.S.) on ''Beagle 2'', with the private sector providing more than £44 million ($80 million U.S.). {Link without Title} MISSION PROGRESS Although the ''Beagle 2'' craft successfully deployed from the ''Mars Express'' "mother ship", confirmation of a successful landing was not forthcoming. Confirmation should have come on 25 December 2003 , when the ''Beagle 2'' should have contacted NASA 's '' Mars Odyssey '' spacecraft that was already in orbit. In the following days, the Lovell Telescope at Jodrell Bank also failed to pick up a signal from ''Beagle 2''. The team said they were "still hopeful" of finding a successful return signal. Attempts were made throughout January and February of 2004 to contact ''Beagle 2'' using ''Mars Express''. The first of these occurred on January 7 , 2004 , but ended in failure. Although regular calls were made, particular hope was placed on communication occurring on January 12, when ''Beagle 2'' was pre-programmed to expect the ''Mars Express'' probe to fly overhead, and on the February 2, when the probe was supposed to resort to the last communication back-up mode: Autotransmit. However, no communication was established with ''Beagle 2''. On December 31 , 2003 , it was reported that a Crater was photographed in the center of the target landing site. It is possible that this could be the final resting place of ''Beagle 2'', the craft unable to transmit from the shadow of the crater walls. ''Beagle 2'' was declared lost on February 6 , 2004 , by the ''Beagle 2'' Management Board. On February 11, ESA announced an inquiry would be held into the failure of ''Beagle 2''. Search for the crash site On which may suggest that ''Beagle 2'' came down in a crater at the landing site on Isidis Planitia. It is claimed that the blurry images show the primary impact site as a dark patch, and, a short distance away, ''Beagle 2'' surrounded by the deflated airbags and with its solar panels extended. Verification of this claim may come with the arrival of the Mars Reconnaissance Orbiter at the planet in late 2006. (See also [http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/sci/tech/4542174.stm BBC analysis]). ESA/UK INQUIRY REPORT In May, 2004, the report form the Commission of Inquiry on ''Beagle 2'' was submitted to ESA and the UK 's science minister Lord Sainsbury . Initially the full report was not published on the grounds of confidentiality, but a list of 19 recommendations were announced to the public. Professor David Southwood , ESA's director of science, listed the following scenarios how the landing might have failed:
In February 2005, following comments from House of Common Select Committee on Science and Technology, the report was made public, and Leicester University independently published a detailed mission report, including possible failure modes, and a "lessons learned" pamphlet. LEGACY In 2004, Pillinger announced plans to launch an improved successor, provisionally entitled '''', in 2009. SEE ALSO EXTERNAL LINKS
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