Beagle descent possibly too fast (ESA's Beagle 2 probe) | BBC

[Ediacara]

Beagle descent possibly too fast


A heat shield was designed to
protect Beagle during descent

The Beagle 2 lander could have crashed into Mars because the atmosphere on the planet was less dense than expected.

Mission scientists told a London meeting the probe may simply have been going too fast for its parachute and airbags to bring about a soft landing.

The Royal Society conference also heard photographic evidence had found four bright spots, dubbed the "string of pearls", on the surface of the planet.

Scientists are studying the images to see if they show the lander's remains.

They want to know if the spots are the probe's airbags and chute or are merely an artefact of the imaging process.

The Beagle team, led by Professor Colin Pillinger, told the society the latter was probably the case.

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