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Beagle 2: Mission to Mars - Current StatusBeagle 2 is a 72 kg probe (with a 32 kg lander) developed in the United Kingdom for inclusion on the European Space Agency's 2003 Mars Express. Beagle 2 was launched on June 2, 2003 with Mars Express on a Soyuz-Fregat rocket from the Baikonur Cosmodrome in Kazakhstan. Beagle 2 landed on Mars on December 25th, 2003 in Isidis Planitia (approx. 10.7 N and 268.6 W), a large sedimentary basin that overlies the boundary between ancient highlands and northern plains. Isidis Planitia, the third largest impact basin on Mars, which is possibly filled with sediment deposited at the bottom of long-standing lakes or seas, offers an ideal environment for preserving traces of life. The team is awaiting signals from the Beagle 2 lander at the time when this abstract was written. Current status of the mission will be reported. Beagle 2 was developed to search for organic material and other volatiles on and below the surface of Mars in addition to the study of the inorganic chemistry and mineralogy. Several fundamental properties can be used to determine the existence of an active or past biology on any planet, Earth or Mars. Beagle 2's targets for investigation included: (a) The presence of water, or the existence of minerals deposited from water to show that water was present, even if only transiently; (b) The detection of carbonaceous debris, the remains of organisms that might have lived in water or were washed to a final resting place by the action of water; (c) The structure of organic matter, to demonstrate that it might have been synthesized for a biological purpose; (d) The recognition of isotopic fractionation between carbonaceous phases (organic vs inorganic carbon phases), a condition which on Earth suggests that life emerged nearly 4 billion years ago.
Document ID
20040062512
Acquisition Source
Johnson Space Center
Document Type
Conference Paper
Authors
Gibson, E. K., Jr.
(NASA Johnson Space Center Houston, TX, United States)
Pillinger, C. T.
(Open Univ. Milton Keynes, United Kingdom)
Wright, I. P.
(Open Univ. Milton Keynes, United Kingdom)
Morgan, G. H.
(Open Univ. Milton Keynes, United Kingdom)
Yau, D.
(Open Univ. Milton Keynes, United Kingdom)
Stewart, J. L. C.
(Open Univ. Milton Keynes, United Kingdom)
Leese, M. R.
(Open Univ. Milton Keynes, United Kingdom)
Praine, I. J.
(Open Univ. Milton Keynes, United Kingdom)
Sheridan, S.
(Open Univ. Milton Keynes, United Kingdom)
Date Acquired
August 21, 2013
Publication Date
January 1, 2004
Publication Information
Publication: Lunar and Planetary Science XXXV: Missions and Instruments: Hopes and Hope Fulfilled
Subject Category
Lunar And Planetary Science And Exploration
Distribution Limits
Public
Copyright
Public Use Permitted.
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