Images may explain space probe's crash landing on Mars

The Beagle 2 space probe, that failed to land safely on Mars, has been spotted in images of the crash site, the British scientist who led the mission says.

Beagle 2 was scheduled to land on Mars on Dec. 25, 2003 but the miniature laboratory was officially declared lost.

• FROM JAN. 26, 2004: British team makes last-ditch attempt to reach Beagle 2 on Mars

Colin Pillinger, lead scientist on the mission, said the latest images from NASA's Mars Global Surveyor spacecraft suggest Beagle2 was damaged when it fell into a crater near the landing site.

The 68-kilogram craft was supposed to unfurl its parachutes and air bags and then open up to begin searching for signs of water and life on Mars.

NASA's high resolution images may contain clues about Beagle's landing, although the spacecraft itself is too small to see directly.

"There is a lot of disturbance in this crater, particularly a big patch on the north crater wall, which we think is the primary impact site," Pillinger told the BBC.

"There are then other features around the crater consistent with the airbags bouncing around and finally falling down into the middle. Then, when you cut the lace, the airbags fall apart giving three very symmetrical triangles."

Four circular features could be from Beagle's unfolded solar panels, said Pillinger, a professor at Open University, Milton Keynes in central England.

Pillinger said the spacecraft came close to landing properly but failed because it landed with a "sideways motion."

Landing the wrong way may have damaged the lander, preventing it from releasing its antenna to signal controllers, Pillinger said.

"If we're right, then there are a lot of things that we don't have to do (on a new spacecraft) other than tweak a little," Pillinger told AFP on Tuesday. He is looking for funds to sponsor a new mission to Mars.

• FROM NOV. 2, 2004: Late funds hampered Beagle mission to Mars: MPs

The cause of the crash was never determined. An internal report in 2004 suggested Beagle may have had a hard landing because the Martian atmosphere was less dense than expected during a dust storm.

A joint inquiry by the European Space Agency and British government said no one was to blame for the failure of the mission, which cost more than $40 million US in public funds.