spacetoday.net: Still no contact with Beagle 2

Posted: Fri, Dec 26, 2003, 12:07 PM ET (1707 GMT)
Beagle 2 lander illustration (Beagle 2)

A second attempt to contact the British-built Beagle 2 Mars lander failed on Thursday night when an Earth-based radio telescope could not detect any signals from the spacecraft. The 76-meter Lovell Telescope at Jodrell Bank in the UK listened Thursday night but detected no signals from the spacecraft, which landed on Mars in the early morning hours Thursday. A radio telescope array in the Netherlands was also enlisted in the effort to contact the spacecraft, but strong radio interference interrupted that attempt. NASA's Mars Odyssey spacecraft, which made the first attempt to detect Beagle 2 when it passed over the landing site less then three hours after touchdown, will make another 30-minute pass Friday starting at 12:53 pm EST (1753 GMT). Jodrell Bank will also listen for spacecraft signals Friday evening as well. Beagle 2 has 13 more pre-programmed communications attempts, after which it will transmit a pulse signal throughout the daylight hours.