Beagle 2 Mars Lander Didn’t Crash, Could Still Be Working Today After More Than A Decade

One of the nastiest mysteries in the history of Mars exploration may have finally been solved. The long-held theory that the 2003 British 'Beagle 2' lander crashed on the Red Planet might have been too presumptuous as a group of scientists at the University of Leicester and De Montfort University now claims that Beagle 2 landing was "successful."

According to the team that analyzed the failure of the mission, the lander did not crash as previously thought. In fact, not only did it land successfully but it probably also became operational. The major issue, however, was that the built-in radio antenna could not be deployed as per plan.

Even more fascinating is the fact that Beagle 2 could still be working today, almost 13 years after its scheduled landing, said Prof. Mark Sims who commissioned the study, BBC reports. Nonetheless, he admits that the possibilities are rather slim.

Beagle 2 was the first interplanetary mission launched by the U.K. Designed to partake in an astrobiology study, it rode along on ESA's Mars Express orbiter to examine the Red Planet from up close. Scientists working on the mission hoped that Beagle 2 would fetch them high-quality and reliable data to look for any sign of life.

The fate of the lander became a subject to close scrutiny last year after NASA's Mars Reconnaissance Orbiter (MRO) had returned high-resolution images of Beagle 2 standing right there on the surface of Mars, according to European Space Agency.

The follow-up analysis of the image showed that the lander had deployed just two of the four solar panels, paving the way for speculations that the lander had hit the ground much harder than anticipated before becoming tangled in its own airbags or parachutes.

"It may have worked for hundreds of days depending on how much dust was deposited on the solar panels and whether any dust devils were cleaning the panels - as happened with Nasa's Mars Exploration Rovers," Prof. Sims said.