spacetoday.net: Still no contact with Beagle 2

Posted: Sat, Jan 10, 2004, 9:52 AM ET (1452 GMT)
Beagle 2 lander illustration (Beagle 2)

The British-built Beagle 2 Mars lander has yet to communicate with controllers, more than two weeks after landings, making it increasingly likely that the mission has failed. ESA's Mars Express orbiter has passed over the landing site for three straight days but, as of Friday, had yet to detect any signals from the lander. Past efforts to contact the lander through NASA's Mars Odyssey spacecraft and groundbased systems also failed. Mars Express will make a few other passes over the site, including one on Saturday, and Beagle 2 is designed to shift into another communications mode if contact is not established by early February. The Financial Times reported Saturday that, regardless of the outcome of the mission, Beagle 2 project scientist Colin Pillinger would urge the UK to fund a similar mission for launch in 2007.