BRITAINS EXPLORATION OF MARS WAS NOT A FAILURE AFTER ALL AS BEAGLE 2 LANDED AND DEPLOYED ON THE SURFACE OF MARS BUT MAY HAVE FAILED TO DEPLOY ITS SOLAR PANEL TO START COMMUNICATION BACK TO EARTH

 

So near and yet so far. New images show that the UK’s Beagle 2 successfully landed on the surface of Mars in 2003 but failed to fully deploy its solar panels. Without these, it could not communicate with Earth and scientists lost contact.

The discovery images come from the HiRISE camera on Nasa’s Mars Reconnaissance Orbiter. They show a bright shape that looks like the lander with some of its solar panels deployed.

The pictures are not yet sharp enough to tell exactly how many of Beagle 2’s four panels unfolded. More images are currently being planned to help work out what happened. The final panel would have uncovered the radio antenna, allowing the spacecraft to make contact.

http://www.theguardian.com/science/2015/jan/16/lost-beagle-2-spacecraft-found-mars