Beagle 2 Found 'Partially Deployed' On Mars

A British spacecraft which disappeared as it approached Mars in search of alien life has been spotted on the planet's surface.

The Beagle 2 was presumed to have been destroyed because it had not been seen or heard from since December 2003.

But UK Space Agency chief executive David Parker has confirmed that photos taken by a Nasa orbiter spacecraft show it successfully landed 12 years ago.

He said: "The history of space exploration is marked by both success and failure. This finding makes the case that Beagle 2 was more of a success than we previously knew and undoubtedly an important step in Europe's continuing exploration of Mars.

"What we can say with some confidence today is that Beagle 2 is no longer lost and furthermore it seems we are not looking at a crash site.

"We have good evidence of Beagle 2 resting on the surface of Mars."

The images taken from 185 miles above Mars in 2013 and again last year show that the small lander touched down successfully close to its intended landing site.

However, it is believed that it did not fully deploy its panels, preventing it from contacting Earth.

Professor Mark Sims of the University of Leicester, who was an integral part of the Beagle 2 project, said: "I am delighted that Beagle 2 has finally been found on Mars.

"Every Christmas Day since 2003 I have wondered what happened to Beagle 2. My Christmas day in 2003, alongside many others who worked on Beagle 2, was ruined by the disappointment of not receiving data from the surface of Mars.

"To be frank, I had all but given up hope of ever knowing what happened to Beagle 2. The images show that we came so close to achieving the goal of science on Mars."

He said that damage to the craft could have been caused by a number of issues ranging from damage from a heavy landing or the airbag not rolling away and becoming stuck in the mechanism.

He added: "Personally I think it is a bad luck scenario, I don't think anything was wrong with the engineering, we we just unlucky on the day."