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Beagle 2 Gets New Parachute
The Beagle 2 Mars lander passed a key test Friday when Astrium Space conducted a drop test of the parachute system from a balloon platform as the last in a series of comprehensive tests. In June, following the discovery during testing in May 2002 it was found that the airbags were not strong enough. Astrium decided to then recruit its own team to design, develop, manufacture, test and deliver a new lightweight parachute for the lander in under five months - it did it in three. The solution was to reduce the impact velocity significantly by using a larger parachute manufactured from state-of-the-art materials as it had to be of the same mass and occupy the same stowed volume as the previous design. Just one month later, Astrium, with the assistance of Analyticon, had recruited a core team to drive through the programme. A high performance ringsail type of parachute with a canopy area 56% greater than the previous one was designed by the Astrium team within 4 weeks. Lindstrand Balloons in the UK was contracted to structurally test the parachute and manufacture qualification and flight models. In order to verify the aerodynamic performance, Irvin Aerospace Inc. of California produced test parachutes and performed flight tests in the ideal conditions of the Arizona and California deserts. The first flight trial, on 30 August, demonstrated outstanding parachute performance, which was fully confirmed in subsequent trials. The highly complex method of packing the parachute was demonstrated in the UK on 12th September by the rapid extraction of the parachute from its pack at speeds of up to 90mph. The simple, but severe method of towing the parachute out behind a truck was adopted to demonstrate the strength of the parachute, and on 16th September showed margins well in excess of requirements. This led to complete success in the Project Review on 26 September 2002. The whole exercise, from the decision to create the team, to completion and verification of the design was achieved within an amazingly short 15 weeks. The flight parachute is due to be delivered for integration into the Beagle 2 flight structure in mid November 2002. Another significant milestone in the demanding Beagle 2 programme has been met and Beagle 2 is on target for launch on ESA's Mars Express satellite aboard a Soyuz rocket from the Baikonur Cosmodrome on 23 May 2003. Astrium is the Industrial Prime Contractor for Beagle 2 and is also the Prime Contractor for ESA's Mars Express spacecraft which will carry the probe out to Mars. Related Links Beagle 2 Astrium Space SpaceDaily Search SpaceDaily Subscribe To SpaceDaily Express 
Work Starts On Assembling Beagle 2
London - Jul 31, 2002A joint UK and European mission to find evidence of life on Mars took another giant leap forward this week when engineers started assembling the Beagle 2 lander. Students to Join NASA's Mars Exploration Rover-2003 Team 
Houston - Oct 18, 2002Ever since the first spacecraft rocketed beyond Earth, children around the world have dreamed of exploring space. The LEGO Company and The Planetary Society, the largest nonprofit organization dedicated to the exploration of our solar system, are about to make that dream come true. Doubts Over Mars 2003 Rover Duo 
Los Angeles - Sep 16, 2002With launch only eight months from now, there are continuing technical problems with NASA's twin 2003 Mars Exploration Rovers that could possibly delay the arrival of one or both rovers at Mars until 2008.
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