Missing Spacecraft Beagle2 Found Parked on Mars After Vanishing for More Than a Decade
Eleven years after it missing, UK's Mars explorer Beagle has finally been found.
According to CNN, Beagle -2 was spotted on Mars surface by researchers studying images captured by Nasa's Mars Reconnaissance Orbiter (MRO). Beagle went missing after it ejected from the European Space Agency's Mars Express Orbiter on December 19, 2003. It was expected to land few days later and begin transmission but researchers lost contact after its ejection.
"I am delighted that Beagle 2 has finally been found on Mars. Every Christmas Day since 2003 I have wondered what happened to Beagle 2. My Christmas Day in 2003 alongside many others who worked on Beagle 2 was ruined by the disappointment of not receiving data from the surface of Mars. To be frank I had all but given up hope of ever knowing what happened to Beagle 2. The images show that we came so close to achieving the goal of science on Mars," said Mark Sims of the University of Leicester, U.K who was part of Beagle 2 project, in a news release.
The images show Beagle had successfully landed on Mars but could not completely deploy its flaps with mounted instruments and solar panels which would have powered it. The flaps were partially deployed, indicating that the impact of the fall may have caused damage.
Though the lander did not fulfil its mission, the research team is happy about partial success it achieved, Engadget reported.
"MRO has helped find safe landing sites on Mars for the Curiosity and Phoenix missions besides locating the missing craft to learn what may have gone wrong. It's an extremely difficult task, as the craft are small and the search areas are vast," said Richard Zurek of NASA's Jet Propulsion Laboratory.
