Beagle 2 declared lost

Simulation of Beagle 2 on the Martian surface (All Rights Reserved: Beagle 2)  Beagle 2, the British-designed Mars lander, has been officially declared lost following a meeting of the Management Board on 6 February. Following this news, the European Space Agency (ESA) and the Science Minister, Lord Sainsbury, have announced an inquiry to establish the likely causes of failure of the mission.

An inquiry of this kind is normal following the loss of any spacecraft. It is hoped that discovering what caused the lander to fail will enable scientists to plan and prepare for future missions to Mars.

Both Mars Express, Beagle 2's 'mothership' and the American Mars Global Surveyor are being used to search Beagle 2's predicted landing site. Mars Global Surveyor has already returned some high-resolution images of part of the landing site but there are no signs of the probe as yet.

Colin Pillinger, Beagle 2's lead scientist, hopes to find the lander intact or at least some traces of it on the surface to help narrow the search for answers. Fragments of the probe will suggest a failure with either the largely untested parachutes or the airbags designed to allow Beagle 2 to bounce down on the surface.

Landing on Mars

Artist's impression of parachute landing of Beagle 2. Illustration by Medialab, copyright ESA  Beagle 2 successfully separated from Mars Express on the morning of 19 December at approximately 11.00 GMT. The probe was due to land on the surface at approximately 02.54 GMT on Christmas Day, with the first signal to reach Earth later that morning.

The probe had no propulsion system of its own so Mars Express had to be correctly positioned to ensure Beagle 2 will enter the Martian atmosphere at the correct angle and land on target.

The lander had a heat shield to protect it from the tremendous temperature as it entered the atmosphere. A parachute would then deploy to slow the probe. Finally the protective shielding was to be discarded and a series of gas-filled bags inflated to allow Beagle 2 to gently bounce itself to a stop on the surface.

Beagle 2 entering the Martian atmosphere. Illustration by Medialab, copyright ESA Several attempts to locate the probe and establish contact using Earth-based observatories and NASA's Mars Odyssey orbiter all failed. Hopes rested on using Beagle 2's mothership – Mars Express – to contact the probe. A controlled burn has reduced its orbit, enabling to begin detailed scans of the planet's surface.

Shortly after midday on 7 January 2004, Mars Express was at the lowest point of its flight path, as close as 315 km to the landing area of Beagle 2. Several low-level passes failed to find the probe. A final attempt was made on Thursday 14 January, after which the orbiter's transmitter was shut down.

Finally, all hopes rested on being able to force Beagle 2 into a back-up communications mode. The probe was designed to automatically enter this mode following a week of communications 'silence'. It was due to do this on 2 February but attempts to establish contact using the Jodrell Bank Observatory proved unsuccessful.