Uncovering the Mystery of Mars: Beagle 2’s Tragic Expedition and Finding on the Bitter Plains of Isidis Planitia
The spacecraft was supposed to spend up to six months on Mars looking for chemical clues of ancient life.
A huge plain broader than Texas sits just south of Mars’ equator, straddling the Red Planet’s crater-studded highlands and smooth rolling lowlands, and was likely sculpted by a gigantic impact more than 3.9 billion years ago. Isidis Planitia, a wide expanse of pitted ridges, light-colored ripples, and low dunes, now serves as a permanent home and burial for one of Mars’ unluckiest robotic visitors.
This would-be martian invasion arrived on Earth 20 Christmases ago, never to be seen or heard from again. Britain’s ill-fated Beagle 2 is now barely visible to only our most advanced optics as a brilliant smudge among an unending sea of wind-whipped ochre dust, dead nearly on arrival and presently dust-streaked and half buried in the abrasive sand. It serves as a sharp reminder of the difficulties of arriving on this harsh world next door.
For more than a decade, the fate of Beagle 2, which began its descent to the surface early on Christmas Day 2003 ostensibly in fine shape before disappearing like a blip on a radar screen, remained a vexing enigma. Its targeted landing site at the eastern border of the 930-mile-wide (1,500-kilometer-wide) Isidis Planitia would be probed for hints by a swarm of circling probes. However, because Beagle 2 is so small – only 6.5 feet (1.9 meters) wide when completely deployed – its detection is limited to the capabilities of existing optics – literally an earthly needle in a martian haystack.
Many believed the 73-pound (33.2 kilograms) lander would never be seen by human eyes again, adding to a growing list of failed attempts to reach a world that might have long ago harbored large bodies of water, life-bearing minerals, and even the murmurs of primeval life itself.
Beagle 2 was named after another famous ship.
Beagle 2 – named after HMS Beagle, the Royal Navy brig-sloop that carried British naturalist Charles Darwin on a round-the-world voyage to seek evidence for his theory of species origins in 1831-1836 – should have spent up to six months on Mars, scooping soils and analyzing them for chemical signatures of ancient life. Its robot arm was 43 inches (109 cm) long and held stereoscopic cameras, a microscope, a pair of spectrometers, a flexible sample drill, and a burrowing “mole.”
Beagle 2 boarded Mars Express, a boxy, 1-ton spacecraft brimming with eight scientific instruments to map Mars at resolutions finer than 33 feet (10 m), spectroscopically survey mineral concentrations, and examine the thin, carbon-dioxide-rich atmosphere and its interactions with the interplanetary medium. Two radar antennae, each 60 feet (20 m) long, were used to sound the surface of Mars to a depth of 1.6 miles (2 km).
This strong arsenal backed Mars Express’s basic scientific purpose, which might be summed up in one word: water: if it existed in the red planet’s more benign, livable past, where it went, and whether it hosted life.
Mars Express was Europe’s first autonomous mission to Mars. The European Space Agency (ESA) chose to launch its own mission when the Russian/European Mars 96’s Proton-K rocket failed during ascent in November 1996. A attractive launch window opened up in May/June 2003, when Earth and Mars were closest in their respective orbits – only 34.8 million miles (56 million km) away – but engineers were constrained by a short timescale to develop, manufacture, test, and launch it.
Reusing existing or off-the-shelf gear, delegating complete responsibility to prime contractor Matra-Marconi Space, and using new program-management procedures all saved money and time. It was the cheapest Mars mission ever, costing 150 million euros ($175 million USD in 1999, or $316 million today). And the name Express had two connotations, emphasizing both a quick concept-to-launch design and an unusually short voyage time to Mars, lasting only six months.
Mars Express lifted out from Russia’s Baikonur Cosmodrome in Kazakhstan at 11:45 p.m. local time on June 2, 2003, after being delayed by a defective electronics module. After a half-year sail through the inner Solar System, Beagle 2 was expelled on December 19 and fell into Mars’ atmosphere after five days of ballistic flight. A robust heat shield would protect the lander from severe deceleration temperatures, and a pair of parachutes and three airbags would transport it to a peaceful landing early Christmas morning.
But Santa never made it to Europe. Attempts to contact the lander by NASA’s Mars Odyssey and ground-based observatories such as the United Kingdom’s Jodrell Bank proved futile, and when Mars Express overflew the intended landing site early in January 2004, its attempt to facilitate contact via ultra-high frequency communication also failed. Beagle 2 seems to have gone without a trace.
The Beagle 2 spacecraft has been declared lost in orbit.
It was officially declared lost a month later. In addition, in May 2004, a UK/ESA investigation discovered no specific technical reason or problem, but did identify programmatic and organizational shortcomings that enhanced the likelihood of failure.
Still, the hunt for the unlucky lander went on, its mysterious disappearance a mystery. Imagery from NASA’s Mars Global Surveyor in 2005 revealed an unusual dark speck, raising expectations that it was Beagle 2. However, optical investigation revealed that it was an eroding crater.
Finally, investigations in January 2015 by NASA’s Mars Reconnaissance Orbiter’s High Resolution Imaging Science Experiment (or HiRISE) discovered a strange structure unlike any of the rocks or soils surrounding it. multiple photos indicated multiple items in the areas where Beagle 2’s heat shield and parachute should have landed. Their forms, structures, and the shadows they projected matched the bowl-shaped lander.
It was a great accomplishment. With Beagle 2 discovered, it was clear that the lander had arrived on the ground in one piece, dangerously near to its intended landing site. However, only two or three of its four petal-like solar arrays appeared to have unfolded, obstructing its radio antenna and preventing it from reporting its condition or transferring any data.
The joy of a successful landing was tempered by disappointment for a mission that came so close to success. There was also great grief, because Beagle 2 main investigator Colin Pillinger of the United Kingdom’s Open University had died just a few months earlier in May 2014, and he went to his grave never knowing that the fruit of his labors had made it safely to Mars’ surface over all odds.
The Mars Express’s Impact
Pillinger did, however, survive to see some of the accomplishments of Mars Express, which is now the Red Planet’s second-longest-serving orbiter, with its two decades of continuous operation eclipsed only by NASA’s 2001-launched Mars Odyssey. It has proven the existence of methane in the planet’s atmosphere, found the worldwide range of martian aurorae, and localized high-altitude clouds 50-60 miles (80-100 km) above the surface thanks to its extended polar orbit.
It provided tantalizing hints that ancient water once flowed here: from flooding in Mangala Vallis to a frozen sea in the equatorial Elysium Planitia, from water-ice patches in Vestitas Borealis to sulphate deposits in Juventae Chasma, and from possible river channels in Nepenthes Mensae and Reull Vallis to hydrated silicates in Mars’ northern highlands. It revealed signs of a linked subsurface network of lakes in 2019, five of which had materials required for life.
Solar wind erosion may have contributed to the slow disintegration of the thin atmosphere, according to Mars Express data. In 2007, it witnessed terrifying dust storms wreaking havoc on the world, temporarily elevating global temperatures by 68-86 degrees Fahrenheit (20-30 degrees Celsius). It discovered unusual windblown sand landforms known as yardangs, escarpments, and landslides, and it assisted in the classification of important Martian volcanic and tectonic events into five distinct epochs spanning durations ranging from 3.8 billion to 100 million years ago. The orbiter also made many near flybys of Phobos, revealing it to be a damaged rubble pile of aggregate material with a porosity of 25-35%.
As if to atone for the loss of Beagle 2, the tenacious small spacecraft also assisted with additional landings, guiding NASA’s Phoenix lander and Curiosity rover to safe, on-target touchdowns in 2008 and 2012. Its visual monitoring camera, initially designed to monitor Beagle 2, was converted into a Mars webcam for public outreach in 2008. And, with its exploration mission having exceeded 20,000 Mars orbits and activities extended to the end of 2026, it undoubtedly has much more to give.
FAQs about the Beagle 2 Mars Mission and Mars Express Spacecraft:
1. What was the Beagle 2 Mars mission?
A British spacecraft called Beagle 2 set out to investigate Mars in an effort to find chemical traces of prehistoric life. It was a component of the European Space Agency’s (ESA) Mars Express project.
2. How was Beagle 2 discovered on Mars?
NASA’s Mars Reconnaissance Orbiter’s High Resolution Imaging Science Experiment (HiRISE) found Beagle 2 on Mars in January 2015, finding a structure that matched the lander’s attributes.
3. Tell us about the Mars Express spacecraft.
The European Space Agency (ESA) launched the Mars Express mission in 2003. Being among the longest-serving orbiters near Mars, it has made a substantial contribution to our knowledge of the atmosphere, geology, and possible water existence of the planet in the past.
4. What is Isidis Planitia on Mars?
On Mars, Isidis Planitia is a large plain located south of the equator. It is identified by low dunes, light-colored ripples, and pitted ridges that are thought to have been formed by a large impact more than 3.9 billion years ago. This was the anticipated landing spot for Beagle 2.
5. Where did Beagle 2 land on Mars?
The eastern edge of Isidis Planitia was the intended landing site for Beagle 2, which was selected due to its potential to shed light on the habitability and water content of Mars in the past.
6. What was the goal of the Mars exploration mission involving Beagle 2?
Beagle 2 was used to examine Martian soils for chemical clues of prehistoric life as part of the mission’s up to six-month investigation of the planet. Beagle 2 was carried by Mars Express, a spacecraft equipped with a variety of scientific equipment for detailed mapping.
7. Who led the Mars Express mission?
The European Space Agency (ESA) oversaw the Mars Express project, which was the continent’s first independent trip to Mars.
8. Were there any significant achievements by Mars Express?
Indeed, Mars Express has been a successful orbiter, revealing a variety of geological features, confirming the existence of methane in the Martian atmosphere, and offering important information on the planet’s historical circumstances.
9. How did Colin Pillinger contribute to the Beagle 2 mission?
Beagle 2’s principal investigator, Colin Pillinger, was instrumental in the mission’s advancement. Regretfully, he died in May 2014 without knowing that Beagle 2 had made a successful landing on Mars.
10. What did the Mars Express data reveal about the Martian atmosphere?
Data from Mars Express revealed that the thin atmosphere of Mars may be gradually disintegrating due to solar wind erosion.
11. Has Mars Express observed Martian dust storms?
Indeed, dust storms were seen by Mars Express in 2007, offering important new information about the planet’s atmospheric dynamics.
12. What regions of Mars did Mars Express study for signs of water?
Mars Express looked for signs of ancient water flow in a number of locations, including Mangala Vallis, Elysium Planitia, Vestitas Borealis, Juventae Chasma, Nepenthes Mensae, and Reull Vallis.
13. What role did Mars Express play in additional Mars landings?
In 2008 and 2012, respectively, Mars Express helped steer NASA’s Phoenix lander and Curiosity rover to safe and precise landings.
14. What did the Mars Express visual monitoring camera contribute to the mission?
In 2008, Mars Express’s visual monitoring camera—which was initially intended to keep an eye on Beagle 2—was converted into a Mars webcast for public education.
15. How long has Mars Express been in operation, and what are its future plans?
Mars Express has completed more than 20,000 orbits around the planet, and its operations have been extended until the end of 2026, promising even more significant advances in our knowledge of the Red Planet.
16. What were the organizational shortcomings identified in the UK/ESA investigation of Beagle 2’s loss?
While programming and organizational flaws raised the possibility of mission failure, the May 2004 review could not pinpoint a precise technical cause for Beagle 2’s failure.
17. How did Beagle 2’s small size impact the search for it on Mars?
Due to its small size—just 6.5 feet (1.9 meters) broad when completely deployed—Beagle 2 was only visible through current optical capabilities and was difficult to identify on Mars, analogous to trying to discover a needle in a Martian haystack.
18. Which particular scientific instruments were carried by Mars Express and Beagle 2?
Beagle 2 was equipped with a flexible sample drill, spectrometers, stereoscopic cameras, a microscope, and a burrowing “mole.” Eight scientific equipment were carried on Mars Express, including radar antennas for surface probing and tools for feature mapping and analysis.
19. What did the discovery of Beagle 2 reveal about its landing condition on Mars?
Near its planned landing spot on Mars, Beagle 2 was found undamaged. Still, only two or three of its four solar arrays were fully extended, which impeded data transfer and communication.
20. What role did Mars Express have in the categorization of tectonic and geological processes on Mars?
Classifying major volcanic and tectonic events on Mars that occurred between 3.8 billion and 100 million years ago was made possible thanks in large part to Mars Express, which also contributed significantly to our understanding of the planet’s geological past.