Beagle's on it's way!

The Beagle 2 Mars lander was due to separate from ESA's Mars Express space probe this morning - see beagle2.open.ac.uk/news/index.htm for more details. Mission controllers in Darmstadt are awaiting confirmation of the success of the separation manoeuvre around about now.

Fingers crossed, everyone! :approve:

Jodrell Bank has finished its search for the night and did not detect any trace of Beagle.

Its probably just a little too early to write it off but it is looking as though Mars has calimed andther craft.

From spaceflightnow
"A second opportunity to receive communication from the British Beagle 2 lander has failed to detect a signal. Using the 76-meter Jodrell Bank radio telescope, scientists hoped to hear a tone from the lander tonight that would indicate the spacecraft is alive on the surface of Mars.

But just like the initial shot at hearing from Beagle around 0530 GMT (12:30 a.m. EST) via NASA's Mars Odyssey spacecraft in orbit around the planet, not a peep was heard.

Thursday evening's Jodrell sweep was performed from 2220 to 2340 GMT (5:20-6:40 p.m. EST), the European Space Agency said.

While trying to remain hopeful, project officials will continue the search on Friday with Mars Odyssey and Jodrell. The team says the next Odyssey attempt will be made at 1814 GMT (1:14 p.m. EST). Jodrell will try again between 2320 and 2400 GMT (6:20-7 p.m. EST). "

What a pity,
I hope they do make contact, I read somewhere that on Jan 4th, Mars Express will be flying over the landing area and will take some pics, lets hope we dont see debris.

according to spaceflightnow;

Current window for contact with Beagle 2 has just closed, Jodrell Bank is scheduled to try again tonight between 2320 and 2400 UT, although it will probably try sooner and for longer.

"On Saturday, Mars Odyssey passes over the landing site again at 0657 GMT (1:57 a.m. EST). Jodrell Bank becomes available between 2316 and 2356 GMT (6:16 and 6:56 p.m. EST).

Odyssey will continue the search daily and the Stanford University radio telescope in the U.S. is expected to also join in the effort, ESA said.

"If all those attempts are unsuccessful, then Mars Express itself flies over the landing site in the first week of January 2004. Of all these potential signal detectors, Mars Express is the only one that has been specially designed and tested to transmit and receive signals from Beagle 2. "

Looks like it could be a clear sky tonight from Laois. Could be a poignant view of Mars ...

still nothing...

Apparently there is a 1km wide crater in the landing zone which the probe could have bounced into. The press seem to be taking as fact that it has ended up in the crater and if so it would be the longest hole-in-one ever! But realistically the chances of it hitting something that small in the drop zone must be fairly slim, though if no contact is made we may never know.

You have to wonder why they only get high resolution pictures of the area AFTER the probe has landed though. Wouldnt getting them before have been a better idea?

Cheers,
~Al

www.beagle2.com/resources/landingphotos.htm
news.independent.co.uk/world/science_med...ory.jsp?story=476913