Thirteen commemorative red plaques to be unveiled at locations
across the UK to celebrate Beagle 2 — the first British and
European spacecraft to successfully land on another planet.
Beagle 2 touched down on Mars on Christmas Day 2003 but fell
silent and was presumed lost for over a decade. In January 2015,
NASA imagery confirmed it had landed safely and precisely on
target — its silence likely caused by a single solar panel
failing to fully deploy.
Host sites include the National Space Centre in Leicester, the
Science Museum in London, Jodrell Bank in Cheshire, the Open
University in Milton Keynes and Airbus in Stevenage, with a
family celebration day at the National Space Centre on Sunday 7
June.
A series of commemorative red plaques will tell the story of
Beagle 2, the pioneering British spacecraft that, against all
odds, made it to the surface of Mars.
Thirteen plaques will be unveiled at organisations and companies
that played an integral role in the mission or continue to
champion space exploration to the public. The initiative is part
of the UK Space Agency's wider mission to celebrate the UK's
proud history in space exploration and inspire the next
generation of scientists, engineers and explorers.
For more than a decade the lander had been presumed lost after no
signal was received following landing on Christmas Day 2003.
Then, in January 2015, it was confirmed that Beagle 2 had
successfully landed precisely where it was expected to, making it
the first British and European spacecraft to land on another
planet.
Images from NASA's Mars Reconnaissance Orbiter revealed the
spacecraft had landed safely, with its entry and descent systems
performing as designed. The cause of its silence is thought to be
a single solar panel that failed to fully deploy, blocking the
communications antenna.
Conceived by Professor Pillinger of the Open University, in
collaboration with the University of Leicester and a network of
UK academics and companies, Beagle 2 was carried to Mars aboard
the European Space Agency's Mars Express mission. The spacecraft
was intended to analyse Martian soil and atmosphere for evidence
of past life on Mars.
Space Minister said:
Beagle 2 captured the imagination of the nation and it is one of
the great stories of British science and engineering. The team
who built and flew it did something extraordinary - they landed a
spacecraft on Mars.
These plaques are a fitting tribute to their ingenuity and
ambition, and a reminder that the technologies and expertise they
developed continue to shape the UK's place at the forefront of
space exploration. I hope this initiative inspires a new
generation to look up and ask what we might achieve next.
Professor Mark Sims, who was Mission Manager at the University of
Leicester at the time, said:
Being part of the Beagle 2 mission was one of the most
extraordinary experiences of my life. The combined industry
academia team put everything into getting the spacecraft to Mars,
and for over a decade we had to live with the uncertainty of not
knowing what had happened and the fact that Beagle 2 may have
failed to land and crashed.
When NASA's images finally confirmed that Beagle 2 had landed
safely and precisely where we intended, it was a moment of
immense pride.
These plaques are a wonderful recognition of the thousands of
hours of dedication from so many brilliant scientists, engineers
and technicians in industry and academia across the UK who made
the mission possible. The University of Leicester is immensely
proud of the role it played, and I hope this initiative reminds
people that Beagle 2 was not a failure — it was a remarkable
achievement that continues to inspire the generations of space
explorers.
The National Space Centre in Leicester marked the new initiative
with a special celebration day open to families and space fans of
all ages on Sunday, 7 June.
Forming a part of the Centre's 25th birthday milestone this year,
the event brought the mission's story to life through hands-on
family activities, talks and expert discussions, and an unveiling
of the plaque marking the historic Lander Operation Control
Centre. It provided an opportunity for audiences of all ages to
increase their admiration and awareness for the legacy of this
incredible mission.
The technologies, engineering expertise, and scientific
innovation behind Beagle 2 have become embedded in the UK space
sector over the past two decades, shaping current and future UK
space exploration programmes.
