This picture shows what Beagle 2 might look like on Mars. You can see the solar panels (upper left) and the robot arm (lower right).
Click on image for full size
Image courtesy European Space Agency (ESA)
Mars Express - Beagle 2 Lander
The European Space Agency (ESA) launched a mission to Mars in
June of 2003. The mission is called "Mars Express". The Mars
Express spacecraft has two parts. One part will orbit Mars
for at least one Martian year. A year
on Mars lasts 687 Earth days, so it is longer than a year on Earth.
The second part of Mars Express is a lander
named "Beagle 2". Beagle 2 is supposed to land on Mars
on Christmas day in 2003.
Beagle 2 has parachutes to slow it down as it lands on Mars. It also
has some air bags that will blow up around it. The air bags will help
give Beagle 2 a soft landing. After Beagle 2 bounces to a stop, it will
unfold some solar panels that will give it energy.
The Beagle 2 lander will look for life on the surface of Mars. It has
a robot arm that will scoop up dirt. It will check the dirt for chemicals
that might have been made by living things. Beagle 2 will land in a flat
area called "Isidis
Planitia" that is inside an old crater. There may have been
a lake inside the crater many years ago.
Beagle 2 is named after a famous ship called the H.M.S. Beagle. A scientist
named Charles Darwin sailed
on the H.M.S. Beagle about 170 years ago. Darwin helped invent a theory
called evolution that explains a lot about how life works. Scientists
hope to find out a lot about life if they discover life on Mars. So the
Mars Express team named their lander Beagle 2 in honor of Darwin's ship.
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