Final testing of a Shropshire-built parachute for a space probe to Mars was taking place early today. The parachute – made by Oswestry’s Lindstrand Balloons – was dropped from a balloon 300ft above Sleap Airfield, near Wem. Attached to it was a weight equivalent to the revolutionary Beagle 2 space probe. The probe was developed by Astrium, the prime contractor for the international project to land on the Red Planet and search for life.