Beagle 2: the exobiological lander of Mars Express

planned to touch down in the Isidis Planitia region of Mars (265.0°W, 11.6°N). Once safely deployed on the surface, Beagle 2 will conduct an intensive and exhaustive programme of surface operations for about 180 sols (equivalent to about 6 months on Earth). The principal objective is the detection of extinct and/or extant life, or at least to establish if the conditions at the landing site were ever suitable for life to have evolved in the planet’s history. To achieve this goal, a systematic set of experiments using a complementary suite of instruments will perform in situ geochemical, mineralogical and petrological analysis of selected rocks and soils. Studies of the martian environment will also be conducted via chemical analysis of the atmosphere, local geomorphological assessment of the landing site and measurement/monitoring of dynamic environmental processes, including transient events such as ‘dust devils’. Further studies, unique to Beagle 2, include analysis of the subsurface regime using a ground penetration tool and the first attempt at in situ isotopic dating of rocks on another planet. The complete experiment package weighs less than 9 kg and requires less than 40 W of power. With a probe mass limit of 69 kg, imposed by mission constraints, and a landed mass of 33 kg, Beagle 2 thus aims to fly the highest mass ratio of payload-to-support systems of any mission to Mars. This is achievable only by adopting an integrated design approach and employing minimal or zero redundancy.

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