It may look like a garden barbecue, or a giant pocket watch. But it is, in fact, a space probe – on Christmas Day it will land on Mars and start exploring. Here, Colin Pillinger, the British scientist behind this shoestring project, tells the story of the Beagle 2.
November 5th, 2003
Bringing Mars to the classroom
The straight-talking, chess-loving Education Secretary, Charles Clarke, has a new cause to champion – the British mission to land on Mars. This week, he joined Science Minister Lord Sainsbury and Mars scientist Professor Colin Pillinger to launch educational resources linked to the Beagle 2 project, as BBC News Online’s Helen Briggs reports.
November 4th, 2003
Science gets boost from space
A British space project to explore Mars is being used to inspire school children to take an interest in science. The school project, backed by Education Secretary Charles Clarke, is the latest attempt to try to make science more interesting and to capture the imaginations of youngsters.
November 4th, 2003
Mars mission used to boost science education Guardian Unlimited
Britain’s mission to Mars is being used as the launch pad for a drive to boost children’s interest in science. Ministers unveiled an education information pack today on the Beagle 2 lander, designed and built by UK scientists and engineers, which is on board Europe’s Mars Express orbiter and is scheduled to land on the red planet on Christmas Day.
October 31st, 2003
Solar storm surge ‘not over yet’
Scientists are warning that the spurt of dramatic solar activity may not be over yet. One astronomer described the two large gas clouds that reached the Earth earlier this week as ‘unprecedented.’ However, experts say that although unusual, the events are not beyond the bounds of ‘normal’ solar activity. En route to the Red Planet, the Mars Express spacecraft was hit by the cloud of charged particles but it was designed to withstand these events.
October 28th, 2003
Mars Express/Beagle 2 PPARC
MEDIA BRIEFING INVITATION 10.00am, 11th November 2003 Royal Society, 6-9 Carlton House Terrace, London, SW1Y 5AG
September 16th, 2003
Mars rocks Beagle team
The meteorite that revived hopes of finding life on Mars is to be analysed by scientists working on the British-led Beagle 2 mission. The meteorite is to be re-examined to help calibrate the “eyes” of Beagle 2 – the stereo camera system the Mars lander will use to view the strip of rock and soil where it bounces to a halt.
September 9th, 2003
School competition to design Mars probe
Britain’s first mission to Mars, the Beagle Two, will land on the red planet on Christmas day, and here’s your chance to get involved…
August 27th, 2003
Europe’s Mars mission hit by energy failure: Russian space agency
The European Space Agency’s (ESA) unmanned mission to Mars is suffering from power shortages after its solar panels stopped functioning, the Russian space agency, Rosaviakosmos, said Wednesday.