Lost Beagle2 probe found 'intact' on Mars

[muriel_volestrangler]

Source: BBC

High-resolution images taken from orbit have identified its landing location, and it looks to be in one piece.
...
Beagle's design incorporated a series of deployable "petals", on which were mounted its solar panels.

From the images, it seems that this system did not unfurl fully.

"Without full deployment, there is no way we could have communicated with it as the radio frequency antenna was under the solar panels," explained Prof Mark Sims, Beagle's mission manager from Leicester University.

Read more: http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/science-environment-30784886

---

[Duckhunter935]

1. amazing

glad they found it,too bad it did not fully deploy the panels.

[BumRushDaShow]

2. That was probably like finding a needle in a haystack.

At least they can add the location data to help with the "what went wrong" investigation.

[nykym]

3. Why not send in one

of the rovers to help it out?

[muriel_volestrangler]

4. Rovers move very slowly, and are probably hundreds of miles away

They could probably never reach it. And after 11 years, there's a good chance things wouldn't work now, even if it could be kicked into life.

[FLPanhandle]

5. At least they know what failed and can update future designs

Without knowing what component failed, the same flaw might have been incorporated into future probes.

[El Supremo]

6. The Beagle Had Landed!

Sorry.

[dembotoz]

9. snoopy come home

[Yavin4]

7. We have the tech to find Beagle2 on Mars, but no tech to help us find the damn remote for the TV!

Pffffft.

[hack89]

8. You start with the easy things first and work your way up. nt

[greiner3]

11. Prohibitive cost;

But how about a GPS tracker.

The one I found costs $120 and there is ONLY a nominal monthly fee.

/s

[christx30]

12. There was a TV I saw on a infomercial when I was a

kid in the '90s that would cause the remote to chirp when you turned it on from the TV. Boggles the mind how all TVs don't do that these days.

[hughee99]

10. Appropriately named. My beagle tends to wander off and get lost too. n/t