 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
Veil Of Mystery Slowly Lifts From British Space Mission To Mars
London (AFP) Dec 20, 2005 Two years after it disappeared, the British boffins behind the Beagle 2 mission to plant an unmanned robot laboratory on the surface of Mars have come up with a strong hypothesis to explain its fate. If they are right, and high-resolution images from a new NASA mission to Mars next year could provide the hard proof they need, the path could be cleared for a potential Beagle 3 mission to unravel the secrets of the red planet. "The first time we actually felt we were on to something was at the end of the summer," Professor Colin Pillinger of the Open University in Milton Keynes, central England, told AFP on Tuesday. "We've been over this and around it and over again... If we're right, then there are a lot of things that we don't have to do (on a new spacecraft) other than tweak a little." Beagle 2, resembling a silver pocket watch when folded and jammed packed with high-tech instrumentation, rode piggy-back to Mars aboard the European Space Agency's Mars Express, from which it separated on December 19, 2003. It should have landed on Mars on Christmas Day and unfolded its array of instruments, but it never sent a signal to Earth -- frustrating the nearly 50 million pound (74 million euro, 87.7 million dollar) mission. It was declared lost the following February, but the mutton-chopped Pillinger -- who became a TV personality with his terrier-like enthusiasm in the face of setback -- never gave up delving into the possible causes. Firm clues eventually came out of images from the NASA spacecraft Mars Global Surveyor which revealed signs of a disturbance in a crater close to the intended landing site, in a near-equatorial region called Isidis Planitia. NASA's Mars Reconnaissance Orbiter spacecraft, which is to reach Mars in March next year, is expected to supply more proof. Once in orbit, Pullinger said, it will be able to scan the surface with unprecedented image quality. "There is a lot of disturbance in this crater, particularly a big patch on the north crater wall which we think is the primary impact site," the scientist told BBC television. "There are then other features around the crater consistent with the airbags bouncing around and finally falling down into the middle. Then, when you cut the lace, the airbags fall apart giving three very symmetrical triangles." Pullinger speculated that the impact of the landing may have damaged onboard instruments and prevented communication. It also may have hit the ground too hard because the atmosphere was thinner than normal due to nearby dust storms at the time, he explained. But he told AFP: "We think 'wreckage' is too strong a word. We are actually thinking that is is very much intact." Pillinger said his team's hypothesis has been put to experts who make their living reading satellite images -- not necessarily those from Mars -- and that they have found it credible.
Source: Agence France-Presse Community Email This Article Comment On This Article Related Links SpaceDaily Search SpaceDaily Subscribe To SpaceDaily Express Mars News and Information at MarsDaily.com Lunar Dreams and more
Spirit Heading To 'Home Plate'
Pasadena CA (JPL) Jan 09, 2006Last week Spirit completed robotic-arm work on "El Dorado." The rover used all three of its spectrometers plus the microscopic imager for readings over the New Year's weekend. |
|
|
| The content herein, unless otherwise known to be public domain, are Copyright 1995-2006 - SpaceDaily.AFP and UPI Wire Stories are copyright Agence France-Presse and United Press International. ESA PortalReports are copyright European Space Agency. All NASA sourced material is public domain. Additionalcopyrights may apply in whole or part to other bona fide parties. Advertising does not imply endorsement,agreement or approval of any opinions, statements or information provided by SpaceDaily on any Web page published or hosted by SpaceDaily. Privacy Statement |
