Beagle 3Scientists lift veil on Beagle 3
/ref> (also called Beagle 2: Evolution) was a proposed

Mars Mars is the fourth planet from the Sun. It is also known as the "Red Planet", because of its orange-red appearance. Mars is a desert-like rocky planet with a tenuous carbon dioxide () atmosphere. At the average surface level the atmosph ...

lander mission to search for

life on Mars The possibility of life on Mars is a subject of interest in astrobiology due to the planet's proximity and similarities to Earth. To date, no conclusive evidence of past or present life has been found on Mars. Cumulative evidence suggests that ...

, past or present. ''Beagle 3'' was the proposed successor to the failed British '' Beagle 2'' Mars lander, with which communication was lost. ''Beagle 3'' was promoted by Professor

Colin Pillinger Colin Trevor Pillinger, (; 9 May 1943 – 7 May 2014) was an English planetary scientist. He was a founding member of the Planetary and Space Sciences Research Institute at Open University in Milton Keynes, he was also the principal invest ...

, lead scientist on the ''Beagle 2''.

EADS Astrium Astrium was a European aerospace company and subsidiary of the European Aeronautic Defence and Space Company (EADS), headquartered in Paris. It designed, developed and manufactured civil and military space systems and provided related services ...

also played a part in funding and early development of the project. Pillinger dreamed of launching up to two landing craft from an orbiter in 2009 as part of the

European Space Agency The European Space Agency (ESA) is a 23-member International organization, international organization devoted to space exploration. With its headquarters in Paris and a staff of around 2,547 people globally as of 2023, ESA was founded in 1975 ...

's Aurora Programme. The putative ''Beagle 3'' would be named after the ship

HMS Beagle HMS ''Beagle'' was a 10-gun brig-sloop of the Royal Navy, one of more than 100 ships of this class. The vessel, constructed at a cost of £7,803, was launched on 11 May 1820 from the Woolwich Dockyard on the River Thames. Later reports say ...

that took

Charles Darwin Charles Robert Darwin ( ; 12 February 1809 – 19 April 1882) was an English Natural history#Before 1900, naturalist, geologist, and biologist, widely known for his contributions to evolutionary biology. His proposition that all speci ...

around the world. After the ''Beagle 3'' project was rejected by ESA in 2004, Pillinger proposed to the

NASA The National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA ) is an independent agencies of the United States government, independent agency of the federal government of the United States, US federal government responsible for the United States ...

to hitch a ride on the

Mars Science Laboratory Mars Science Laboratory (MSL) is a robotic spacecraft, robotic space probe mission to Mars launched by NASA on November 26, 2011, which successfully landed ''Curiosity (rover), Curiosity'', a Mars rover, in Gale (crater), Gale Crater on Augus ...

Mars lander, but the proposal was not accepted. One of the goals of Beagle 3 was to support the ESA Aurora programme if chosen.

Proposed payload

* Advanced

solar cell A solar cell, also known as a photovoltaic cell (PV cell), is an electronic device that converts the energy of light directly into electricity by means of the photovoltaic effect.

technology, meaning two disc-shaped solar arrays (as opposed to the previous four) * A gas analysis package (Gap) to test soil and rock for

biosignature A biosignature (sometimes called chemical fossil or molecular fossil) is any substance – such as an element, isotope, molecule, or phenomenon – that provides scientific evidence of past or present life on a planet. Measurable ...

s and

biomolecule A biomolecule or biological molecule is loosely defined as a molecule produced by a living organism and essential to one or more typically biological processes. Biomolecules include large macromolecules such as proteins, carbohydrates, lipids ...

s * Powerful

X-band The X band is the designation for a band of frequency, frequencies in the microwave radio region of the electromagnetic spectrum. In some cases, such as in communication engineering, the frequency range of the X band is set at approximately 7.0� ...

(8.0 to 12.0 GHz) antenna for direct vehicle-to-Earth radio link on the vehicle's main shell, to provide real-time descent data. * New

lithium-ion A lithium-ion or Li-ion battery is a type of rechargeable battery that uses the reversible Intercalation (chemistry), intercalation of Li+ ions into electronically Electrical conductor, conducting solids to store energy. Li-ion batteries are c ...

battery technology—to be able to operate at lower temperatures, meaning less power wasted on heating—a possible 60% capacity boost to that of ''Beagle 2''. * Deadbeat airbags, which inflate just before touch-down, and gently deflate during landing, so that the probe could come to a stop where it lands, and not bounce to a stop. * ''Life-chips'', which detect the presence of

amino acid Amino acids are organic compounds that contain both amino and carboxylic acid functional groups. Although over 500 amino acids exist in nature, by far the most important are the 22 α-amino acids incorporated into proteins. Only these 22 a ...

Impact of Beagle 2 discovery

Beagle 2 was found in 2015, which overturned a previous theory that it hit thin air and collided with Mars at high speed, however it was not known for sure because it did not transmit any data during descent. When the Beagle 2 leader tried to raise money for Beagle 3, the EDL system used on Beagle 2 was an unknown. However, after its discovery there was realization that the EDL must have worked as it was found on the surface with several panels deployed, even though it did not transmit. One of the goals of Beagle 3 was to use lessons learned from Beagle 2 to improve the spacecraft, and also take advantage of newer technology. However, since it was not clear what happened to Beagle 2, it was not obvious what should be changed.

References

External links

* * {{Use British English, date=January 2014 Missions to Mars Cancelled astrobiology space missions Space programme of the United Kingdom Cancelled space probes Astronomy projects

Proposed payload

Impact of Beagle 2 discovery

See also

References

External links