[X] My Assistant

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http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/sci/tech/3591748.stm

The investigation looked at possible technical reasons for the loss of the probe and the lessons learnt which might benefit any future missions.

The team maintains its belief that a thinner than expected atmosphere may have thwarted a controlled landing.

[djellison]

- and then, on top of that, have the unbelievable gall (or idiocy) to request that NASA should have its 2009 MSL rover carry a complete copy of Beagle 2 as a STATIONARY PACKAGE, TO WHICH MSL WOULD RETURN PERIODICALLY TO FEED IT SAMPLES

Quite agree - this makes me drop any hint of respect I had for the guy. Asking NASA to turn a $1B+ probe into his man-servent isnt even laughable. It's tragic. It's not even plausable, and certainly not the best way of getting his instruments to mars. I hope there's a swathe of JPL guys just laughing at the idea. Any chance the guy had of getting a Beagle clone to mars just went out the windows.

Pillinger had the perfect opportunity here in the UK post Beagle 2 to do something with the enormous ammount of good will towards the project even though it failed. He's just blown it. There are ways and means for him to have sorted funds to perhaps build a couple of augmented B2's (larger = more room for robustness) and a dedicated orbiter for a couple of hundred million quid, and done the job properly. Alternatively, take GAP and offer it up as an instrument to fly on Phoenix, MSL and any further lander project.

The one thing you dont say is "Right - nasa - we'll build another one. You take it to mars and then feed it samples" - not only is that just down right stupid - but you just shot yourself in the foot regarding the whole argument that you never needed wheels in the first place!

For what it's worth - the corner cutting and lack of testing for Beagle 2 was never something any of the team wanted. It was just something that had to happen on the fiscal and chronologic constraints they (Self) imposed by trying to do the thing in the first place. Lest we forget ( and two MER's makes it very VERY easy to do so ) - going to mars remains bloody hard, Nasa having 4 spacecraft fail at the '99 opportunity. I'm STILL glad that Pilliinger tried to do Beagle 2 even knowing what I do now - because there's STILL amazing interest and support for the project here in the UK. But he's running, if not run out of time in terms of doing something sensible about it. I was weeks away from getting a question asked in Parliment about this by my MP - then he suddenly died. Chances of our new Lib-Dem MP caring one iota about space is nil.

But you're right - the guys lost it if he things Nasa arnt going to have a very good laugh at the idea of MSL playing butler. The whole concept is simply laughable. I hope that the opportunity arrises for me to tackle him about the issue personally in the near future. I just want to make sure that somehow he's not been miss-reported.

Doug