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Lost Beagle2 probe found 'intact' on Mars

bbc.co.uk

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Re: Lost Beagle2 probe found 'intact' on Mars

#11

Post by theandrewbailey »

This is a good 'accidental' postmortem and provides a good example of how to not design a probe. Having many large parts move before radio contact is possible is bad design.

I have a new project: compare designs of Martian missions that succeeded, and contrast against those that didn't.

Re: Lost Beagle2 probe found 'intact' on Mars

#13

Post by coroxout »

arethuza wrote: post #4
jgrahamc wrote: post #3

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Thumbs up for that book. The section about the development of mobile telephony is great.

The section on Elite was pretty interesting as well - I can remember being amazed playing it on an Acorn Electron in '84/'85. Colin Pillinger seemed like a great bloke though, I really did feel sorry for him when the probe failed.

Yes, I loved the Elite section - I bought the book after reading an excerpt from the Elite chapter in the Guardian [0] - and the Concorde section.

I had also missed the news of Colin Pillinger's death; RIP.

[0] Probably this one, should anyone else be curious: http://www.theguardian.com/books/2003/oct/18/features.weeken...

Re: Lost Beagle2 probe found 'intact' on Mars

#14

Post by jgalt212 »

jgrahamc wrote: post #3
mrcarrot wrote: post #2

I hadn't realised Colin Pillinger had died. I've found the news oddly affecting considering I never met the guy. :( (For anyone interested in the background to the Beagle2 probe, 'Backroom Boys'[1] includes a great chapter on it, and Prof Pillinger's involvement .) [1]: http://www.amazon.co.uk/Backroom-Boys-Secret-Return-British-...

Thumbs up for that book. The section about the development of mobile telephony is great.

Yes, great chapter. I like the bit about after the fall of Soviet Union the KGB tries to sell satellite images of Great Britain to be used by Vodaphone for radio planning.

Re: Lost Beagle2 probe found 'intact' on Mars

#15

Post by mrcarrot »

mcmatterson wrote: post #10
mabbo wrote: post #6

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Love the book. Scared about the movie. Matt Damon seems an odd cast for the role. He's not that kind of funny.

It's Ridley Scott doing a Mars shipwreck movie. I hope the humour is at a minimum.

It wont be a very accurate adaptation if it is! Mark Watney's a fun guy!

Re: Lost Beagle2 probe found 'intact' on Mars

#17

Post by Cthulhu_ »

gadders wrote: post #9
netcraft wrote: post #7

It looks like it might be as simple as one of the solar panels not flipping out to expose the radio. Such bad luck. Really goes to show how many things on a mission like this has to go right.

Hindsight is 20/20, but maybe they should have planned for a less than perfect landing.

They did actually, the thing was designed to drop on a random angle and bounce around for a while on airbags until it came to a full stop, before said airbags would deflate and it would self-right itself by opening up. Here's an image with it having landed on an uneven surface: http://freespace.virgin.net/michael.jennings1/beagle.jpg

Re: Lost Beagle2 probe found 'intact' on Mars

#20

Post by feroz1 »

mabbo wrote: post #6
graupel wrote: post #5

This seems like something right out of The Martian (which I am 75% through reading, and highly recommend) - http://www.goodreads.com/book/show/18007564-the-martian

Love the book. Scared about the movie. Matt Damon seems an odd cast for the role. He's not that kind of funny.

Matt Damon has been cast? Not sure about that decision!
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