European Scientists Announce Investigation Into Missing Mars Lander

[rodbarnett]

LONDON (AP) - European scientists signaled the end of their hunt for the missing Beagle 2 Mars lander Wednesday by announcing an investigation into the disappearance of the British-built spacecraft.
"Whilst orbiting spacecraft continue to listen out for Beagle 2, the project has now officially moved on to assessing the possible reasons for the lack of communication," said Colin Pillinger, the lead British scientist on the Beagle team.

http://ap.tbo.com/ap/breaking/MGANQ2ONJQD.html

[donsu]

1. sabotage?

nt

[IndianaGreen]

2. Ack, ack!

[Kellanved]

3. why?

The "big" part of the European project was the orbiter; the lander was a cheap, AFAIR €2 million, extra (and to let the British have their toy :evilgrin:).
The significance, or rather the lack thereof, is shown clearly by the share of European experiments and tools on the NASA landers (about 20%).