A British-built space probe which vanished 11 years ago has been found on the surface of Mars, making it the first European spacecraft to land successfully on the red planet.
Beagle 2, part of a European Space Agency’s Mars Express mission searching for extraterrestrial life, had been due to land on Mars on December 25, 2003, but disappeared on December 19.
Space experts at London’s Royal Society Scientific Institution said on Friday that the tiny Mars lander had been found in recent images from NASA’s Mars Reconnaissance Orbiter.
“The entry, descent and landing sequence for Beagle 2 worked and the lander did successfully touch down on Mars on Christmas Day 2003,” the UK Space Agency said in a statement.
Leicester University’s Mark Sims, Beagle 2’s mission manager, said that while the spacecraft had failed to communicate any data from Mars, it had succeeded in getting to its target, landing, and inspiring scientists.
“Overall, I would say Beagle 2 was a great success,” Sims said, adding that the find was exciting, frustrating and “tinged with sadness” because its creator Colin Pillinger did not live to see it.
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