{"id":9664,"date":"2015-01-16T10:37:57","date_gmt":"2015-01-16T15:37:57","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/hobbyspace.com\/Blog\/?p=9664"},"modified":"2015-01-17T17:27:16","modified_gmt":"2015-01-17T22:27:16","slug":"uk-beagle-2-mars-lander-spotted-on-mars-by-orbiter","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/hobbyspace.com\/Blog\/?p=9664","title":{"rendered":"UK Beagle 2 Mars lander spotted on Mars by orbiter"},"content":{"rendered":"<p>News comes today from NASA and the UK space authorities that the <a href=\"http:\/\/en.wikipedia.org\/wiki\/Beagle_2\" target=\"_d\">Beagle 2<\/a>\u00a0Mars Lander, which\u00a0went silent\u00a0during its landing attempt in 2003, has been seen from orbit. Below are the\u00a0NASA and UK announcements and videos:<\/p>\n<p style=\"text-align: center;\"><strong><a href=\"http:\/\/www.nasa.gov\/jpl\/lost-2003-mars-lander-found-by-mars-reconnaissance-orbiter\/#.VLkttSvF98E\" target=\"_d\">&#8216;Lost&#8217; 2003 Mars Lander Found by Mars Reconnaissance Orbiter\u00a0<\/a><\/strong><\/p>\n<p><span class=\"embed-youtube\" style=\"text-align:center; display: block;\"><iframe loading=\"lazy\" class=\"youtube-player\" width=\"1600\" height=\"900\" src=\"https:\/\/www.youtube.com\/embed\/t4LLIJ_z0fQ?version=3&#038;rel=1&#038;showsearch=0&#038;showinfo=1&#038;iv_load_policy=1&#038;fs=1&#038;hl=en&#038;autohide=2&#038;wmode=transparent\" allowfullscreen=\"true\" style=\"border:0;\" sandbox=\"allow-scripts allow-same-origin allow-popups allow-presentation allow-popups-to-escape-sandbox\"><\/iframe><\/span><\/p>\n<p>The Beagle 2 Mars Lander, built by the United Kingdom, has been thought lost on Mars since 2003, but has now been found in images from NASA&#8217;s Mars Reconnaissance Orbiter.<\/p>\n<p>A set of three observations with the orbiter&#8217;s High Resolution Imaging Science Experiment (HiRISE) camera shows Beagle 2 partially deployed on the surface of the planet, ending the mystery of what happened to the mission more than a decade ago. They show that the lander survived its Dec. 25, 2003, touchdown enough to at least partially deploy its solar arrays.<\/p>\n<p>Beagle 2 hitched a ride to Mars on the European Space Agency&#8217;s long-lived Mars Express mission. It was a collaboration between industry and academia designed to deliver world-class science from the surface of the Red Planet.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cI am delighted that Beagle 2 has finally been found on Mars,&#8221; said Mark Sims of the University of Leicester, U.K. He was an integral part of the Beagle 2 project from the start, leading the initial study phase and was Beagle 2 mission manager. &#8220;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.<\/p>\n<div class=\"field field-name-field-featuresideimages field-type-image field-label-hidden\">\n<div class=\"field-items\">\n<div class=\"field-item even\"><a href=\"http:\/\/hobbyspace.com\/Blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2015\/01\/pia19106-mro-beagle-wide1.jpg\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" data-attachment-id=\"9665\" data-permalink=\"https:\/\/hobbyspace.com\/Blog\/?attachment_id=9665\" data-orig-file=\"https:\/\/hobbyspace.com\/Blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2015\/01\/pia19106-mro-beagle-wide1.jpg\" data-orig-size=\"5844,4135\" data-comments-opened=\"1\" data-image-meta=\"{&quot;aperture&quot;:&quot;0&quot;,&quot;credit&quot;:&quot;&quot;,&quot;camera&quot;:&quot;&quot;,&quot;caption&quot;:&quot;&quot;,&quot;created_timestamp&quot;:&quot;0&quot;,&quot;copyright&quot;:&quot;&quot;,&quot;focal_length&quot;:&quot;0&quot;,&quot;iso&quot;:&quot;0&quot;,&quot;shutter_speed&quot;:&quot;0&quot;,&quot;title&quot;:&quot;&quot;,&quot;orientation&quot;:&quot;0&quot;}\" data-image-title=\"pia19106-mro-beagle-wide[1]\" data-image-description=\"\" data-image-caption=\"\" data-large-file=\"https:\/\/hobbyspace.com\/Blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2015\/01\/pia19106-mro-beagle-wide1-1024x725.jpg\" class=\"aligncenter size-large wp-image-9665\" src=\"http:\/\/hobbyspace.com\/Blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2015\/01\/pia19106-mro-beagle-wide1-1024x725.jpg\" alt=\"pia19106-mro-beagle-wide[1]\" width=\"520\" height=\"368\" srcset=\"https:\/\/hobbyspace.com\/Blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2015\/01\/pia19106-mro-beagle-wide1-1024x725.jpg 1024w, https:\/\/hobbyspace.com\/Blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2015\/01\/pia19106-mro-beagle-wide1-300x212.jpg 300w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 520px) 100vw, 520px\" \/><\/a><\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<div class=\"field field-name-field-feature-sidecaption field-type-text-long field-label-hidden\">\n<div class=\"field-items\">\n<div class=\"field-item even\" style=\"padding-left: 30px;\"><em>This annotated image shows where features seen in an observation by NASA&#8217;s Mars Reconnaissance Orbiter have been interpreted as hardware from the Dec. 25, 2003, arrival at Mars of the United Kingdom&#8217;s Beagle 2 Lander. The image was taken in 2014 by the orbiter&#8217;s HiRISE camera.\u00a0Image Credit:\u00a0NASA\/JPL-Caltech\/Univ. of Arizona\/University of Leicester\u00a0<a href=\"http:\/\/www.nasa.gov\/jpl\/mars\/pia19106\">Full image and caption<\/a><\/em><\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<p>HiRISE images initially searched by Michael Croon of Trier, Germany, a former member of the European Space Agency&#8217;s Mars Express operations team, provide evidence for the lander and key descent components on the surface of Mars within the expected landing area of Isidis Planitia, an impact basin close to the equator.<\/p>\n<p>Subsequent re-imaging and analysis by the Beagle 2 team, the HiRISE team and NASA\u2019s Jet Propulsion Laboratory, Pasadena, California, have confirmed that the targets discovered are of the correct size, shape, color and dispersion to be Beagle 2. JPL planetary geologist Tim Parker, who has assisted in the search and processed some of the images said, &#8220;I&#8217;ve been looking over the objects in the images carefully, and I&#8217;m convinced that these are Beagle 2 hardware.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>Analysis of the images indicates what appears to be a partially deployed configuration, with what is thought to be the rear cover with its pilot\/drogue chute (still attached) and main parachute close by. Due to the small size of Beagle 2 (less than 7 feet, or 2 meters across for the deployed lander) it is right at the limit of detection of HiRISE, the highest-resolution camera orbiting Mars. The targets are within the expected landing area at a distance of about three miles (five kilometers) from its center.<\/p>\n<p>&#8220;I can imagine the sense of closure that the Beagle 2 team must feel,&#8221; said Richard Zurek of JPL, project scientist now for Mars Reconnaissance Orbiter (MRO) and previously for NASA&#8217;s still-missing 1998 Mars Polar Lander. &#8220;MRO has helped find safe landing sites on Mars for the Curiosity and Phoenix missions and has searched for missing craft to learn what may have gone wrong. It&#8217;s an extremely difficult task, as the craft are small and the search areas are vast. It takes the best camera we have in Mars orbit and work by dedicated individuals to be successful at this.&#8221;<\/p>\n<p>HiRISE is operated by the University of Arizona, Tucson. The instrument was built by Ball Aerospace &amp; Technologies Corp. of Boulder, Colorado. The Mars Reconnaissance Orbiter Project is managed for NASA&#8217;s Science Mission Directorate in Washington, by JPL, a division of the California Institute of Technology, Pasadena.<\/p>\n<p>For more information about HiRISE, visit:\u00a0<a href=\"http:\/\/hirise.lpl.arizona.edu\/\">hirise.lpl.arizona.edu<\/a><\/p>\n<p>Additional information about MRO is online at: <a href=\"http:\/\/www.nasa.gov\/mro\">www.nasa.gov\/mro<\/a><\/p>\n<p style=\"text-align: center;\">====================================<\/p>\n<p>And here is a\u00a0statement from the UK government:<\/p>\n<p style=\"text-align: center;\"><strong><a href=\"https:\/\/www.gov.uk\/government\/news\/uk-led-beagle-2-lander-found-on-mars\" target=\"_d\">UK-led Beagle 2 lander found on Mars<\/a><\/strong><\/p>\n<p style=\"text-align: center;\"><em>Beagle 2 successfully landed on Mars on 25th December 2003.<\/em><\/p>\n<p>The UK-led Beagle 2 Mars Lander, thought lost on Mars since 2003, has been found partially deployed on the surface of the planet, ending the mystery of what happened to the mission more than a decade ago. This find shows that the Entry, Descent and Landing (EDL) sequence for Beagle 2 worked and the lander did successfully touchdown on Mars on Christmas Day 2003. Beagle 2 hitched a ride to Mars on ESA\u2019s Mars Express mission and was a collaboration between industry and academia. It would have delivered world-class science from the surface of the Red Planet. Many UK academic groups and industrial companies contributed to Beagle 2.<\/p>\n<p><span class=\"embed-youtube\" style=\"text-align:center; display: block;\"><iframe loading=\"lazy\" class=\"youtube-player\" width=\"1600\" height=\"900\" src=\"https:\/\/www.youtube.com\/embed\/iAKAJR4N6zQ?version=3&#038;rel=1&#038;showsearch=0&#038;showinfo=1&#038;iv_load_policy=1&#038;fs=1&#038;hl=en&#038;autohide=2&#038;wmode=transparent\" allowfullscreen=\"true\" style=\"border:0;\" sandbox=\"allow-scripts allow-same-origin allow-popups allow-presentation allow-popups-to-escape-sandbox\"><\/iframe><\/span><\/p>\n<p>Images taken by the HiRISE camera on NASA\u2019s Mars Reconnaissance Orbiter (MRO) and initially searched by Michael Croon of Trier, Germany, a former member of ESA\u2019s Mars Express operations team at ESOC, have identified clear evidence for the lander and convincing evidence for key entry and descent components on the surface of Mars within the expected landing area of Isidis Planitia (an impact basin close to the equator).<\/p>\n<p>Since the loss of Beagle 2 following its landing on Christmas Day 2003, Michael has, in parallel with members of the Beagle 2 industrial and scientific teams, been patiently screening images from HiRISE looking for signs of Beagle 2. Subsequent re-imaging and analysis by the Beagle 2 team, HiRISE team and NASA\u2019s Jet Propulsion Laboratory (JPL) has confirmed that the targets discovered, are of the correct size, shape, colour and dispersion (i.e. separation) to be Beagle 2.<\/p>\n<p>Dr David Parker, Chief Executive of the UK Space Agency, said:<\/p>\n<p class=\"last-child\" style=\"padding-left: 30px;\"><em>The history of space exploration is marked by both success and failure. This finding makes the case that Beagle 2 was more of a success than we previously knew and undoubtedly an important step in Europe\u2019s continuing exploration of Mars.<\/em><\/p>\n<p>The images, following analysis by members of the Beagle 2 team and NASA, show the Beagle 2 lander in what appears to be a partially deployed configuration, with what is thought to be the rear cover with its pilot\/drogue chute (still attached) and main parachute close by. Due to the small size of Beagle 2 (less than 2m across for the deployed lander) it is right at the limit of detection of imaging systems (cameras) orbiting Mars. The targets are within the expected landing area at a distance of ~5km from its centre. Several interpretations of the image of the lander have been identified, consistent with the lander\u2019s size and shape. The imaging data is however consistent with only a partial deployment following landing. This would explain why no signal or data was received from the lander \u2013 as full deployment of all solar panels was needed to expose the RF antenna which would transmit data and receive commands from Earth.<\/p>\n<p>Professor Mark Sims of the University of Leicester who was an integral part of the Beagle 2 project from the start leading the initial study phase and was Beagle 2 Mission Manager and led the Flight Operations team said:<\/p>\n<p class=\"last-child\" style=\"padding-left: 30px;\"><em>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. The images vindicate the hard work put in by many people and companies both here in the UK and around Europe and the world in building Beagle 2.<\/em><\/p>\n<p class=\"last-child\" style=\"padding-left: 30px;\"><em> The highly complex entry, descent and landing sequence seems to have worked perfectly and only during the final phases of deployment did Beagle 2 unfortunately run into problems. I view it as a great achievement that the team built Beagle 2 in a little over 4 years and successfully landed it on the surface of Mars. It was a great pity we couldn\u2019t have delivered the world class science Beagle 2 may have brought and even sadder that Colin (Pillinger) and other colleagues who died in 2014 didn\u2019t live to see the discovery that Beagle 2 made it to Mars.<\/em><\/p>\n<p class=\"last-child\" style=\"padding-left: 30px;\"><em> Beagle 2 showed the fantastic innovation skills available from UK academia and industry and inspired many people in particular the young. Many opportunities exist for the UK, working with other countries to do inspired space exploration and science (subject of course to available funding).<\/em><\/p>\n<p>Unfortunately given the partial deployment (and covering of the RF antenna) it would not be possible to revive Beagle 2 and recover data from it. Professor Colin Pillinger from the Open University who led the Beagle 2 project with inspirational enthusiasm died in May 2014. Others that provided major contributions to Beagle 2 were Professor George Fraser of the University of Leicester and Professor David Barnes of Aberystwyth University who also died in 2014.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>News comes today from NASA and the UK space authorities that the Beagle 2\u00a0Mars Lander, which\u00a0went silent\u00a0during its landing attempt in 2003, has been seen from orbit. Below are the\u00a0NASA and UK announcements and videos: &#8216;Lost&#8217; 2003 Mars Lander Found by Mars Reconnaissance Orbiter\u00a0 The Beagle 2 Mars Lander, built by the United Kingdom, has &hellip; <a href=\"https:\/\/hobbyspace.com\/Blog\/?p=9664\" class=\"more-link\">Continue reading <span class=\"screen-reader-text\">UK Beagle 2 Mars lander spotted on Mars by orbiter<\/span> <span class=\"meta-nav\">&rarr;<\/span><\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_jetpack_newsletter_access":"","_jetpack_dont_email_post_to_subs":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_tier_id":0,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paywalled_content":false,"_jetpack_feature_clip_id":0,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":"","jetpack_post_was_ever_published":false},"categories":[6,78,13],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-9664","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-history","category-mars","category-space-science"],"jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"jetpack_shortlink":"https:\/\/wp.me\/p34aWK-2vS","jetpack-related-posts":[{"id":13423,"url":"https:\/\/hobbyspace.com\/Blog\/?p=13423","url_meta":{"origin":9664,"position":0},"title":"ExoMars: New images of the ExoMars Schiaparelli crash site","author":"TopSpacer","date":"October 27, 2016","format":false,"excerpt":"The European Space Agency's Trace Gas Orbiter (TGO) spacecraft went into orbit around Mars successfully last week. 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Over twenty-two thousand Earth and space scientists, educators, students and leaders from around the world connected with each other and NASA at the American\u2026","rel":"","context":"In &quot;General&quot;","block_context":{"text":"General","link":"https:\/\/hobbyspace.com\/Blog\/?cat=2"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/img.youtube.com\/vi\/SDbZDSWgjKg\/0.jpg?resize=350%2C200","width":350,"height":200},"classes":[]},{"id":13551,"url":"https:\/\/hobbyspace.com\/Blog\/?p=13551","url_meta":{"origin":9664,"position":4},"title":"Radar study finds Mars ice deposit with water comparable to Lake Superior","author":"TopSpacer","date":"November 26, 2016","format":false,"excerpt":"A huge underground deposit of water has been detected on Mars: Mars Ice Deposit Holds as Much Water as Lake Superior Frozen beneath a region of cracked and pitted plains on Mars lies about as much water as what's in Lake Superior, largest of the Great Lakes, researchers using NASA's\u2026","rel":"","context":"In &quot;Mars&quot;","block_context":{"text":"Mars","link":"https:\/\/hobbyspace.com\/Blog\/?cat=78"},"img":{"alt_text":"pia21136_hires1","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/hobbyspace.com\/Blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2016\/11\/PIA21136_hires1-1024x637.jpg?resize=350%2C200","width":350,"height":200},"classes":[]},{"id":12312,"url":"https:\/\/hobbyspace.com\/Blog\/?p=12312","url_meta":{"origin":9664,"position":5},"title":"Mars Reconnaissance Orbiter reaches 10 year milestone","author":"TopSpacer","date":"March 10, 2016","format":false,"excerpt":"This video shows a small sample of the many magnificent images of the Martian surface taken by the\u00a0Mars Reconnaissance Orbiter MRO\u00a0during its first 10 years of operation: https:\/\/youtu.be\/bdHkgtLgcSY NASA's Mars Reconnaissance Orbiter has clocked more than a decade of service at the Red Planet and has yielded scientific discoveries and\u2026","rel":"","context":"In &quot;Mars&quot;","block_context":{"text":"Mars","link":"https:\/\/hobbyspace.com\/Blog\/?cat=78"},"img":{"alt_text":"pia20167_esp_043961_1740-excerpt[1]","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/hobbyspace.com\/Blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2016\/03\/pia20167_esp_043961_1740-excerpt1-1024x768.jpg?resize=350%2C200","width":350,"height":200},"classes":[]}],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"","_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/hobbyspace.com\/Blog\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/9664","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/hobbyspace.com\/Blog\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/hobbyspace.com\/Blog\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/hobbyspace.com\/Blog\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/hobbyspace.com\/Blog\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=9664"}],"version-history":[{"count":2,"href":"https:\/\/hobbyspace.com\/Blog\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/9664\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":9674,"href":"https:\/\/hobbyspace.com\/Blog\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/9664\/revisions\/9674"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/hobbyspace.com\/Blog\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=9664"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/hobbyspace.com\/Blog\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=9664"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/hobbyspace.com\/Blog\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=9664"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}