According to reports, satellite images of the martian surface have located the British Beagle 2 probe that landed; but never broke radio silence for reasons previously unknown; but suspected of being related to a terminally hard landing.
The images show that the lander is, in fact, almost wholly intact, and likely landed softly; but its folding solar panels didn’t deploy fully, preventing radio contact.
I’m delighted to see what could well have been a vexing scientific mystery cleared up; but I must admit that(despite knowing that the probe’s namesake was Darwin’s ship) this story brings to mind a heartbreaking mental image of a small, furry, beagle, curled up tightly and frozen stiff, lost on the martian surface.
Kudos to the satellite imaging teams, and a moment of silence for mankind’s space dogs.
