They had hoped to communicate with the craft, which has been missing since Christmas Day, via its mother ship Mars Express. The orbiter has flown over Beagle 2's landing site, providing its first ...

The Beagle 2 space probe has been launched on its final ... mission engineers plan to position the Mars Express craft to fire its main engine for about 30 minutes, sending it into Martian orbit.

Europe's Mars Express-Beagle 2 mission, a duo that blasted off June 2; and Japan's Nozomi orbiter, which left for Mars in 1998. "The launch is a milestone, but just one of many along the way.

Mars Express hopes to answer that question with two spacecraft that will work in tandem. Its Beagle 2 will parachute into the planet's atmosphere equipped with cameras to snap pictures and a drill ...

Show more On Christmas Day 2003, an unmanned British space craft called Beagle 2 was due to touch down on Mars and begin searching for evidence of life. The mastermind of the mission, Professor ...