Beagle 2 remains silent
No signal was received from Beagle 2 this morning when ESA’s Mars Express
orbiter passed over the landing site around 0220 GMT. Prof. Colin Pillinger,
Beagle 2 Lead Scientist, was present at ESOC when the data came through and
although the news was disappointing Prof. Pillinger was encouraged by the
continued support and determination of the team at ESA’s mission control centre
to continue the search. The next phase will be to initiate a period of radio
silence where no communication attempts will be made with Beagle 2 until the 22
January. Adopting this approach will force Beagle 2 into communication search
mode 2 [CSM2] where the probe will automatically transmit a signal throughout
the Martian day [power is still conserved during the night].
The results from future communication attempts will be posted on the Beagle 2
and PPARC web sites.
For further details on Mars Express and Beagle 2 see the following websites:
Timeline and Notes for Editors,
http://www.pparc.ac.uk/mars/news/nw_nfe.asp
