A spindly radar antenna with the ambitious aim of revealing any water or ice buried below the Martian surface is set to be deployed Monday aboard the orbiting spacecraft Mars Express. MARSIS (Mars Advanced Radar for Subsurface and Ionosphere Sounding) is the seventh and final instrument on the European Space Agency probe to be switched on since it arrived in December, and will take 10 days to set up. Its main antenna, composed of two 20-metre segments, will act as a 40-metre-long divining rod that will scout for water as deep as a few kilometres below ground.
March 30th, 2004
Mars Express confirms methane in the Martian atmosphere
During recent observations from the ESA Mars Express spacecraft in orbit around Mars, methane was detected in its atmosphere. Whilst it is too early to draw any conclusions on its origin, exciting as they may be, scientists are thinking about the next steps to take in order to understand more.
March 19th, 2004
Can we have a lift to Mars? The Western Mail
A planned new Beagle 2 mission to Mars may hitch a ride on one of NASA’s space ships to travel to the red planet, scientists involved in the project claimed last night. And experts behind the latest quest to find life on Mars are considering using James Bond to help them succeed this time. Former Swansea University academic and project leader, Professor Colin Pilinger, wants to call the lander “Beagle 2 . . . 007”, as 2007 is when he expects the mission will lift off.
March 18th, 2004
Satellite Discovers Ice Cap At the South Pole of Mars Washington Post
Instruments aboard a European satellite orbiting Mars have confirmed the presence of a vast expanse of water ice at the planet’s south pole, overlaid in a small area by a veneer of frozen carbon dioxide, scientists reported yesterday.
March 18th, 2004
Team aboard new Beagle mission
A team from a Welsh university which designed a robotic arm for the ill-fated Beagle 2 mission to Mars will be involved in a new attempt to land on the red planet. The five-person team from the University of Wales, Aberystwyth, constructed a robotic arm for the Beagle 2 probe which was lost on Mars after attempting to land on Christmas Day last year.
March 18th, 2004
Failed Beagle 2 Stimulates Discussion About Mars The Scotsman
A bid to get the nation talking about the UK
March 17th, 2004
Mars spacecraft wallows in water
The latest data returned from Europe’s Mars Express orbiter confirms there are substantial quantities of water-ice held at the Red Planet’s south pole. Scientists say the spacecraft has seen the water-ice in three distinct zones: mixed with carbon dioxide, all on its own and in vast tracts mixed with dust.
March 17th, 2004
UK auditor criticizes government for not revealing Beagle 2 risks Spacetoday.net
A report by the UK National Auditor Office concluded that the British space agency did not properly reveal all the risks associated with the Beagle 2 lander when it sought public funding for the mission. The report, a broad review of the UK’s civil space efforts, noted that the British National Space Centre (BNSC) and its parent office, the Department of Trade and Industry (DTI), suffered weaknesses in risk analysis.
March 16th, 2004
Mars mission criticized by spending watchdog
A public spending watchdog criticized scientists behind the doomed Beagle 2 mission to Mars Tuesday for neglecting to highlight the chances of mission failure when they applied for British government funding. The government plowed more than $40 million into the British-built Mars lander, which has not been heard from since it was ejected from its mother ship in mid-December.