Beagle 2 found by MRO/HIRISE. |
Beagle 2 found by MRO/HIRISE. |
Jan 12 2015, 10:30 PM
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Member Group: Members Posts: 282 Joined: 18-June 04 Member No.: 84 |
Friday 16th January
http://www.theguardian.com/science/2015/ja...MP=share_btn_tw QUOTE A British Mars lander that was lost on its way to the red planet more than a decade ago may have been spotted by an orbiting spacecraft.
The Beagle 2 lander was supposed to touch down on Christmas day in 2003, but after it was released from its mothership, Mars Express, the dustbin-lid-sized craft was never heard from again. But Beagle 2’s final resting place may finally have been discovered. Scientists operating the HiRise camera on Nasa’s Mars Reconnaissance Orbiter (MRO) will take part in a press conference this Friday to announce “an update” on the ill-fated mission. |
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Jan 21 2015, 06:27 AM
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#2
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Member Group: Members Posts: 214 Joined: 30-December 05 Member No.: 628 |
With the evident partial deployment of its solar panels, would Beagle II have lacked sufficient power even to communicate locally with MEX or one of the other two orbiters?
It is very painful to consider that perhaps there was absolutely nothing else wrong with it. Maybe no more than a badly-placed stone blocking the unfolding process... |
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Jan 22 2015, 12:21 AM
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#3
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Member Group: Members Posts: 495 Joined: 12-February 12 Member No.: 6336 |
It is very painful to consider that perhaps there was absolutely nothing else wrong with it. Maybe no more than a badly-placed stone blocking the unfolding process... Yes that's what I was thinking also when we got to see this image, most landers stand on a platform with legs. Beagle2 was a gamble where such had been removed to save weight on one "economy sized" lander. Even so UK can now claim to actually have managed a soft, though bouncing landing on Mars. |
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Jan 22 2015, 02:18 AM
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#4
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Founder Group: Chairman Posts: 14448 Joined: 8-February 04 Member No.: 1 |
most landers stand on a platform with legs. Not really. Of the 8 'successful' landers (I include Beagle 2) - 4 landed on airbags, three with legs, one on its wheels. For MER and MPF, by virtue of their airbags, they ended up rolling roughly to a stop in a flat enough place for initial deployments. I would expect B2 to have done something similar, but realistically, who knows. |
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