"European scientists said today they are examining a strange blot of an unidentified object in the same frame with its Beagle 2 Mars lander photographed right after the lander separated from its mothership. Beagle 2 was supposed to have landed and operated on December 25, 2003, but there has been only silence and its fate is unknown.
Mark Sims, ESA's Beagle 2 Mission Manager is trying to figure out if an image of a bright spot on the shady side of the lander, and another bright spot on Beagle 2 are results of image processing or could be an event that affected Beagle 2's trajectory. Sims said, "The bright object and the glint on the side of Beagle 2 may be nothing, it may be everything."
He also described a Mars Express orbiter photograph which shows four light-colored spots referred to as a "string of pearls." Scientists wonder now if the lander went through the atmosphere too quickly and crash landed instead of the soft landing it was supposed to have with its parachute and airbags.
NASA reported that the Mars atmosphere is less dense than expected and that its first rover landing of Spirit went faster than planned because of the thinner atmosphere." |