Beagle 2: Background information Basic Facts
By Professor Mark Sims, former Beagle 2 Mission Manager and Dr. Jim Clemmet, former Beagle 2 Chief Engineer (until 2003). (Reference Beagle 2 Guide book by Colin Pillinger, Mark Sims and Jim Clemmet, Open University published 2003).
Dates Launched: 2nd June 2003, 17:45 GMT Ejected from Mars Express: 19th December 2003, 08:31 Expected Entry Time into Mars Atmosphere: 25th December 2003, 02:51:22
Landing Site Isidis Planitia 11.6°N, 269.5°W (90.5°E)
Beagle 2 Mass Probe Mass including Entry Descent and Landing System: 68.84kg Lander: 33.2kg Entry Descent and Landing System: 35.6kg Spin-Up and Eject Mechanism (SUEM) and Spacecraft Interfaces: 4.88kg Total Mass: 73.72kg
Artist’s impression of Isidis Planitia. Credit: Illustration by Medialab, ESA 2001. Beagle 2: Lander Dimensions
This image shows the Beagle 2 Base section external diameter: 660mm Lander full deployed. The base Base section depth: 80mm section lower left is the heaviest Base-Lid-Solar Panel axis: ~1900mm section and hence should be in line Solar Panel-Lid-Solar Panel Axis: ~1600mm with and lying flat on any surface Solar Panels: Pentagon Shaped: ~570mm in diameter even it is reasonable slope. The lid Offset Angle between panels, and base: 72° (middle) is where the UHF antenna Lid Depth: ~30mm is and this section is surrounded by Solar Panels Deployment Angle with respect to Vertical (base): ~160° the four panels.
Surface Colours prior to Launch and Landing on Mars Solar Panel Deployment Sequence
Panels This occurs after lid opens. Order of opening shown below by ~85% GaAs solar cells probably blue in colour on clear kapton faced numbering. black Carbon Reinforced Plastic (CRFP), note shiny on rear.
Base Section Gold Multi-Layer Insulation (MLI) covering ~2/3 of it.
Lid Section Black CRFP with square slot “pictureframe” antenna (AstroQuartz) ~500mm a side which is orange/yellow but not highly reflective in colour. Beagle 2 Heat-Shield Main Chute Diameter: 934mm Deployed diameter: 10000mm (10m) Height: ~225mm Rigging lines: 11000mm (11m) Outside Surface Coating: Ablated Norcoat Liege “Cork” and a cork Strop Length: 30000mm (30m) colour Translucent White (very low mass spinnaker nylon) Inside Coating: MLI Aluminium/Silver Colour High likely to collapse to a relatively compact object ~metres in size Mass: 9.78kg Mass: 2.76kg
Beagle 2 (EDL) Rear-Cover Air Bags Truncated Cone Shaped (trapezoidal cross-section) Three bags Largest Diameter: ~900mm Orange segment shape 120° segments, 1930mm long, ~965mm per Smallest Diameter: ~ 400mm side of segment Depth: ~310mm Colour: Yellow/Tan Outside Surface: Black MLI above Norcoat Liege “Cork”, MLI probably Airbag likely distance from lander: ~10m (but with high uncertainty) burnt off or detached Mass: 12.9kg Mass: 9.55kg at launch including pilot chute mortar Number of bounces ~15 Pilot Chute Total distance travelled during bouncing ~400-500m (but with high Deployed diameter: 1920mm uncertainty) Total length with rigging (6.3m) and strops (2.2m): 85000 (~8.5m) First bounce length ~100m Colour: White Note: Pilot Chute should be still attached to rear-cover Mass: 0.5kg
Beagle 2 with shield in action. Credit: ESA 2001. Illustration by Medialab. Entry, Descent and Landing Sequence Entry, Descent and Landing Sequence (with timings) About the Beagle 2 Team Beagle 2 was the UK’s first mission to another planet. The project was a partnership between the Open University, the University of Leicester and EADS Astrium (UK) (now Airbus Defence and Space). Other funding partners included the European Space Agency (ESA), the Office of Science and Technology of the Department of Trade and Industry, the Particle Physics and Astronomy Research Council (PPARC), the Wellcome Trust, the National Space Centre and the Millennium Commission.
See http://www.beagle2.com/ and http://beagle2.open.ac.uk/
About HiRISE and Mars Reconnaissance Orbiter HiRISE is operated by the University of Arizona, Tucson. The instrument was built by Ball Aerospace & Technologies Corp. of Boulder, Colorado. The Mars Reconnaissance Orbiter Project is managed for NASA’s Science Mission Directorate in Washington, by NASA’s Jet Propulsion Labora- tory, Pasadena, California, a division of the California Institute of Technology, also in Pasadena.
See http://mars.jpl.nasa.gov/mro/ and http://www.uahirise.org/
About the European Space Agency The European Space Agency (ESA) provides Europe’s gateway to space.
ESA is an intergovernmental organisation, created in 1975, with the mission to shape the development of Europe’s space capability and ensure that investment in space delivers benefits to the citizens of Europe and the world.
ESA has 20 Member States: Austria, Belgium, the Czech Republic, Denmark, Finland, France, Germany, Greece, Ireland, Italy, Luxembourg, the Netherlands, Norway, Poland, Portugal, Romania, Spain, Sweden, Switzerland and the United Kingdom, of whom 18 are Member States of the EU. Two other Member States of the EU, Hungary and Estonia, are likely soon to become new ESA Member States.
ESA has Cooperation Agreements with six other Member States of the EU. Canada takes part in some ESA programmes under a Cooperation Agreement.
ESA is also working with the EU on implementing the Galileo and Copernicus programmes.
By coordinating the financial and intellectual resources of its members, ESA can undertake programmes and activities far beyond the scope of any single European country.
ESA develops the launchers, spacecraft and ground facilities needed to keep Europe at the forefront of global space activities.
Today, it develops and launches satellites for Earth observation, navigation, telecommunications and astronomy, sends probes to the far reaches of the Solar System and cooperates in the human exploration of space.
Learn more about ESA at www.esa.int
About the UK Space Agency The UK Space Agency is at the heart of UK efforts to explore and benefit from space. The UK’s thriving space sector contributes £11.3 billion a year to the UK economy and directly employs 34,300. The Agency is responsible for all strategic decisions on the UK civil space programme and provides a clear, single voice for UK space ambitions. The Agency is responsible for ensuring that the UK retains and grows a strategic capability in the space-based systems, technologies, science and applications. It leads the UK’s civil space programme in order to win sustainable eco- nomic growth, secure new scientific knowledge and provide benefits to all citizens.