Organisational problems dogged Beagle 2 failure: report

The failure of the UK-led Beagle 2 mission to Mars was largely due to organisational problems, according to a report.

The European Space Agency (ESA) said that there was "no single technical failure or shortcoming" unambiguously responsible, but a few "credible causes" for Beagle 2’s loss were highlighted.

The inquiry board found that there were "programmatic and organisational reasons that led to a significantly higher risk of Beagle 2 failure", than otherwise might have been the case.

The commission of inquiry, which included senior managers and experts from within Europe and also NASA and Russia, held several meetings in the UK and in ESA, interviewing the key players, directors, managers, scientists, and engineers, who participated in the development of Beagle 2.

The board found that the lure of the mission's great scientific rewards blinded the project leaders to the risks involved. The board also found that "very tight financial, mass and schedule constraints" exacerbated the situation.

The Mars Express spacecraft, carrying the Beagle 2 lander, was launched on June 2 last year, arriving in the vicinity of Mars in December. The separation of Beagle 2 from Mars Express occurred on 19 December – the lander was expected to arrive on the Martian surface on December 25.

The first radio contact with Beagle 2 was expected shortly after the scheduled landing time but no signal was received. Many radio contacts were attempted over the following days and weeks, but without result.

By early February no communications had received from Beagle 2 so a joint ESA/UK inquiry was set up to "investigate the circumstances and possible reasons that prevented completion of the Beagle 2 mission".

The Commission has proposed a set of 19 Recommendations on which the UK government, ESA and the Beagle 2 project team are agreed.

ESA said that it will return to Mars, but next time "scientists, engineers and industry will need to agree from the start the formal partnership arrangements and responsibilities that will apply throughout".

The Beagle 2 lander was funded through a partnership arrangement involving the Open University, EADS-Astrium, the Department of Trade and Industry (DTI), the Particle Physics and Astronomy Research Council (PPARC), the Office of Science and Technology and ESA. Funding also came from the National Space Science Centre and the Wellcome Trust. UK principal investigators for Beagle 2 in the UK came from the Open University (gas analysis package), Leicester University (environmental sensors and x-ray spectrometer) and Mullard Space Science Laboratory (imaging systems).

The UK Minister for Science and Innovation, Lord Sainsbury, and the Director General of ESA have accepted the report.

(gmcg)