Beagle 2 Found on Mars?
Posted on December 20, 2005
The BBC reports that one of the scientists working on the Beagle 2 mission believes the lost Mars probe may have been discovered in recent pictures of the Mars surface.
Colin Pillinger says the images suggest the mission very nearly worked, but Beagle somehow failed to contact Earth.The BBC article says clearer images of Mars that will come from Nasa's Mars Reconnaissance Orbiter spacecraft in 2006 could solve the mystery. More information include photos and schematics can be found on the Search for Beagle 2 website.He thinks the craft may have hit the ground too hard - as the atmosphere was thinner than usual because of dust storms in that region of Mars.
This may have damaged onboard instruments, preventing the call home.
The Beagle 2 lead scientist has been painstakingly studying images of the landing site in search of his spacecraft ever since it was lost on Christmas Day two years ago.
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