The Mars Express

What happened to Beagle 2?

The robotic space craft Beagle 2 touched down on mars on Christmas Day 2003, but it never sent back a radio signal to say that it had survived the landing.

It may have been destroyed in a crash or had a computer or battery power problem.

Scientists tried really hard to contact the probe, but they never found out what went wrong.

Beagle 2 travelled to Mars aboard its mothership, Mars Express. It was released and descended to the red planet's surface.

The aim of its mission was to look for life on Mars, and see how the mountains and rocks formed.

"Hooking up with Blur was a bit mutual. Two of the guys have always been keen amateur astronomers. The band was on tour in one of those places you can see a lot of the night sky and they began to wish the UK had a space programme. They mentioned this to somebody who mentioned it to someone else. They said: 'A lot of publicity follows us around, how's about you use us?'"

"So

we

began

to

do

that."

(Read on via BBC)

More: Sound Signal from Mars

Photo: Beagle 2 Entering the Martian Atmos

Put this video together a few minutes ago. Nothing happens (don't worry), and it might look better in the dark with your face near the screen.

Incl. Blur's Beagle 2 + a sample of Poemfield No.2 by Stan Vanderbeek with Kenneth Knowlton: