The scientists failed to get a sign of life from the British Beagle 2 spacecraft that said it had landed safely on Mars. The signal was supposed to be received around 08:30. The American Mars Odyssey spacecraft passed over the landing site but failed to locate the expected signal
The scientists failed to get a sign of life from the British Beagle 2 spacecraft that said it had landed safely on Mars. The signal was supposed to be received around 08:30. The American Mars Odyssey spacecraft passed over the landing site but failed to locate the expected signal.
The Large Radio Telescope at Jordal Bank in Cheshire will be in line with Mars at around 22pm GMT (midnight our time) to try to listen for signals.
If both options fall through, Mars Odyssey will have a daily chance to try to locate the signal until Jan. 3, when Beagle-2's parent spacecraft, Mars Express, begins its mission to orbit Mars.
However, if no signal is received by then, the mission is probably lost. The spacecraft must recharge its batteries on the first mission day or it will not survive its first night on Mars.
Beagle-2 chief scientist Prof. Colin Pillinger told reporters at the Open University in Camden, north London, "I'm afraid it's a bit of a disappointment, but it's not the end of the world. Don't leave here believing we've lost the spacecraft. We've gone into overtime, but it's not time yet The penalty kicks." saying.
According to him, there are several reasons that can be blamed for the lack of a signal, even if the spacecraft reached the Martian soil intact. "It is possible that Beagle 2's antenna is pointing in the wrong direction or that it landed in an area of Mars where it was not expected to land."
In any case, all that remains is to wait until tonight for the next news from Mars Express.
Fear: the European space vehicle failed to land on Mars
By Yuval Dror and the news agencies
The space vehicle "Beagle-2" was supposed to land this morning, but did not make contact as planned. The mission team: it's still too early to lose hope * The spacecraft traveled 56 million km to look for bacteria on Mars
The mission team for landing the space lander Beagle-2 on Mars reported this morning (Thursday) that no life signals were received from it, contrary to plans. The vehicle of the European Space Agency (ESA) was supposed to land on the planet this morning, and by 8:30 (Israel time) send signals and data to the "Mars Odyssey" spacecraft of the American Space Agency (NASA), which is in a peripheral orbit around the star At this stage it is not clear what went wrong during the landing and why signals are not received from the vehicle as planned.
"I'm afraid it's a little disappointing but it's not the end of the world," said Beagle Project Chief Scientist Prof. Colin Pillinger. The project emphasizes that there is hope to hear from Beagle-2 in the coming hours.
"Please, don't leave here with the feeling that we lost the lander," urged Prof. Pillinger to those present at a special press conference. According to him, the only problem may be that Beagle-2's antenna is not properly pointed in the direction of "Mars Odyssey", and therefore it is not receiving its life signals. According to him, tonight at midnight (Israel time) another attempt will be made to receive signals from the lander.
The project managers also admit that if no life signals are received from the lander in the next 24 hours, the chances of them being received at all will decrease. This is because Beagle-2 must deploy the solar panels it carries to charge its battery. If it failed to do so, the battery will be drained and will not be able to be charged at a later stage.
If the chances of renewing contact with Beagle-2 are zero, the spotlight will be turned on two NASA space vehicles, "Spirit" and "Opportunity", which are currently making their way to Mars and will land on the planet at the beginning and end of next month.
Beagle-2 successfully separated from its mother spacecraft, "Mars Express", last Friday. This morning the spacecraft entered a peripheral orbit around the planet. The mission manager, Michael McKay, reported this morning from the ASA control room in Darmstadt, Germany, that a signal was received from the spacecraft indicating that it had entered the peripheral orbit, but it is still too early to determine if its condition is normal.
This is the first spacecraft launched by the European Space Agency, and its purpose is to determine whether there is, or was in the past, life on Mars.
08:45 Awaiting a report on whether Beagle 2 sent a signal at 08:30 from the Isidis plain on Mars
07:50 waiting for a signal from Beagle 2 - scheduled time: 08:30
The European Space Agency is monitoring the Beagle 2 that landed early in the morning on Mars. No signal has been received from her yet.
The signal is expected to be received according to the plans at 06:30 GMT (08:30 Israel time) when the American spacecraft Mars Odyssey will pass over the Isidis plain. If at age 2 it works as planned, the American capsule should receive a signal from it.
Two hours later, (08:30 GMT, 10:30 Israel time) the first signal indicating the entry of the European spacecraft Mars Express into orbit around Mars should arrive.
Between 22:45 and 00:45 tonight (00:45-02:45 Israel time on December 26) the giant radio telescope at the Jordal Bank Observatory in Cheshire, UK, is supposed to scan the sky for signals from the Beagle 2 transmitter The lander doesn't have enough battery power to survive the crimson night, so she must deploy the solar panels before sunset on the first day. If you don't, she will no longer be able to act.
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More repairs are expected on the Mars Express route. It is supposed to reach a polar elliptical orbit, that is, where it circles Mars from pole to pole, when it will come as close as 260 kilometers from the Martian soil before being thrown back to a distance of 11 thousand kilometers.
