Beagle 3[1][2] (also calledBeagle 2: Evolution) was a proposedMars lander mission to search forlife on Mars, past or present.Beagle 3 was the proposed successor to the failed BritishBeagle 2 Marslander, with which communication was lost.Beagle 3 was promoted by ProfessorColin Pillinger, lead scientist on theBeagle 2.EADS Astrium also played a part in funding and early development of the project. Pillinger dreamed of launching up to two landing craft from an orbiter in 2009 as part of theEuropean Space Agency'sAurora Programme. The putativeBeagle 3 would be named after the shipHMS Beagle that tookCharles Darwin around the world.
After theBeagle 3 project was rejected by ESA in 2004, Pillinger proposed to theNASA to hitch a ride on theMars Science Laboratory Mars lander,[3][4] but the proposal was not accepted.
One of the goals of Beagle 3 was to support the ESAAurora programme if chosen.[5]
Beagle 2 was found in 2015, which overturned a previous theory that it hit thin air and collided with Mars at high speed, however it was not known for sure because it did not transmit any data during descent.[6] When the Beagle 2 leader tried to raise money for Beagle 3, the EDL system used on Beagle 2 was an unknown.[6] However, after its discovery there was realization that the EDL must have worked as it was found on the surface with several panels deployed, even though it did not transmit.[6]
One of the goals of Beagle 3 was to use lessons learned from Beagle 2 to improve the spacecraft, and also take advantage of newer technology.[5] However, since it was not clear what happened to Beagle 2, it was not obvious what should be changed.[5]
Media related toBeagle 3 at Wikimedia Commons| Disciplines | |||||||||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Main topics |
| ||||||||||||||||
| Planetary habitability |
| ||||||||||||||||
| Space missions |
| ||||||||||||||||
| Institutions and programs |
| ||||||||||||||||
.jpg)
.jpg)
