A British-built space probe which vanished 11
years ago has been found on the surface of
Mars, making it the first European spacecraft
to land successfully on the red planet.
Beagle 2, part of a European Space Agency's
Mars Express mission searching for
extraterrestrial life, had been due to land on
Mars on December 25, 2003, but disappeared
on December 19.
Space experts at London's Royal Society
Scientific Institution said on Friday that the
tiny Mars lander had been found in recent
images from NASA's Mars Reconnaissance
Orbiter.
"The entry, descent and landing sequence for
Beagle 2 worked and the lander did
successfully touch down on Mars on
Christmas Day 2003," the UK Space Agency
said in a statement.
Leicester University's Mark Sims, Beagle 2's
mission manager, said that while the
spacecraft had failed to communicate any
data from Mars, it had succeeded in getting
to its target, landing, and inspiring scientists.
"Overall, I would say Beagle 2 was a great
success," Sims said, adding that the find was
exciting, frustrating and "tinged with sadness"
because its creator Colin Pillinger did not live
to see it.
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