This picture shows what Beagle 2 may look like on Mars. You can see the solar panels (upper left) and the robotic arm (lower right).
Click on image for full size
Image courtesy European Space Agency (ESA)
Mars Express - Beagle 2 Lander
The European Space Agency (ESA) launched a mission to Mars called "Mars
Express" in June of 2003. The Mars Express spacecraft has two parts:
an orbiter that
will circle the Red Planet for at least one Martian year (687
Earth days), and a lander
named "Beagle 2" which is scheduled to touch down on the
surface of the Mars on December 25, 2003.
Beagle 2 split off from the main Mars Express spacecraft on December
19, 2003. It has a heat shield to keep it from burning up as it enters
the atmosphere of Mars. As
it gets closer to the ground, parachutes will open to slow it down. Beagle
2 has airbags that will surround and protect it as it bounces to a stop
on the surface of Mars. When it stops bouncing, the lander will unfold
itself and get to work studying Mars. It has solar panels to supply it
with energy during the daytime.
The Beagle 2 lander will try to find life on the surface of Mars. It
has a robotic arm that will scoop up soil. It will find out what kinds
of chemicals are in the soil. Some types of chemicals are mostly made
by living creatures. If Beagle 2 finds those types of chemicals it will
have strong evidence that it might have found life. Beagle 2 will land
in a flat area called "Isidis
Planitia" that is inside an old crater. There may have been
a lake inside the crater many years ago.
Beagle 2 is named after a famous ship, the H.M.S. Beagle. A scientist
named Charles Darwin sailed
on the H.M.S. Beagle in the mid-1800s. Darwin was one of the first scientists
to explain how evolution works. The theory of evolution is very important
in the science of biology. If scientists find life on Mars with the Beagle
2, that would be a very important discovery for the science of biology,
too. That is why the Mars Express mission planners decided to name their
lander after Darwin's ship.
Shop Windows to the Universe Science Store!
Our
online store includes
issues of NESTA's quarterly journal, The Earth Scientist, full of classroom activities on different topics in Earth and space science, ranging from
seismology,
rocks and minerals,
oceanography, and
Earth system science to
astronomy!
You might also be interested in:
The European Space Agency (ESA) launched a mission to Mars called "Mars Express" in June of 2003. The Mars Express spacecraft has two parts: an orbiter that will circle the Red Planet for at least one
...more
The European Space Agency (ESA) launched a mission to Mars called "Mars Express" in June of 2003. The Mars Express spacecraft has two parts: an orbiter that will circle the Red Planet for at least one
...more
Isidis Planitia is a flat plain inside a very old crater on Mars. Isidis Planitia is about 1500 km (930 miles) across. It is just north of the equator on Mars on the eastern side of the Red Planet. The
...more
The European Space Agency (ESA) launched a mission to Mars called "Mars Express" in June of 2003. The Mars Express spacecraft has two parts: an orbiter that will circle the Red Planet for at least one
...more
The Hubble Space Telescope (HST) was one of the most important exploration tools of the past two decades, and will continue to serve as a great resource well into the new millennium. The HST found numerous
...more
Driven by a recent surge in space research, the Apollo program hoped to add to the accomplishments of the Lunar Orbiter and Surveyor missions of the late 1960's. Apollo 11 was the name of the first mission
...more
Apollo 12 was launched on Nov. 14, 1969, surviving a lightning strike which temporarily shut down many systems, and arrived at the Moon three days later. Astronauts Charles Conrad and Alan Bean descended
...more
