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Space Topics: Mars Express

Beagle 2 Lander

On December 19, 2003, Mars Express ejected the tiny, 67-kilogram (143-pound) Beagle 2 lander, and took a parting image as the probe headed toward the Martian surface. It was to land six days later on Christmas Day. The “puppy” -- as its “father,” Open University's Colin Pillinger, called it -- carried a powerful suite of instruments that would have been used to study the geology and climate at its landing site and to search for evidence of life on Mars, extinct or extant, had it survived the trip.  Unfortunately, Beagle 2 never “barked” and it has yet to be found in any of the images taken by Mars Global Surveyor, or its own mothership Mars Express. The Mars Reconnaissance Orbiter, now on its way to Mars, has an even sharper vision camera, and may eventually spot the errant Beagle.
 
Although lack of data makes the cause of the failure uncertain, the leading theory is that Beagle 2 crashed into the surface of Mars because the atmosphere turned out to be less dense than models then predicted. The Mars Exploration Rover, Spirit, also experienced an atmosphere less dense than expected while landing on January 3, 2004, just days after Beagle 2 disappeared.