Beagle 2 (Search for) – The Search is Over

In 2003 the search for the lost Beagle 2 capsule was started. The probe sent to Mars by Professor Colin Pillinger and his scientific team embarked on a mission that was said to be doomed from the offset. The technology was considered to cheap and not fit for such a complex task. When Beagle 2 failed to send back a signal indicating that module had successfully landed on Christmas Day 2003 the critics started to gather around Professor Pillinger and his team. Several months later the mission was officially considered a failure.

Beagle 2 (Search for)

Before this damming assessment of the projects failure my own personal disappointment for the team was enough to inspire me on Christmas Day Evening to creating a piece of music titled Beagle 2 (Search for). This was inspired by the notion that rather than ridicule the creators and the money spent we should be looking for the probe to learn from its failures or to find and resurrect Beagle 2.

Beagle 2 Search Over

Fast forward 11 years and Beagle 2 has been found. The search is over.

The more recent and better equipped missions to Mars, Mars Rover has spotted Beagle 2 and can confirm that the mission was tantalisingly close to being the success that Professor Pillinger and his team had hoped for. Mars Rover has confirmed that Beagle 2 landed and was in the process of deploying its solar panels for transmission and power when one of the panels failed to fully open.

The discovery now seals in history the achievements of the Beagle 2 team and re positions Colin Pillinger as the great scientist he was in his lifetime. Although in my eyes his greatness was never doubt.

 

Beagle 2 Animation