Beagle 2 - The Technological Challenge

EADS Astrium Ltd is the industrial Prime Contractor for the Beagle 2 Mars probe, launched on board the Mars Express orbiter on 2nd June 2003. The Beagle 2 lander is due to land on the surface of Mars on the morning of Christmas 2003. The Beagle 2 mission is to search for signs of past or present life on Mars . The complete Beagle 2 package includes the lander, the entry descent and landing system and the spin up and ejection mechanism. The lander, surrounded by the packed gasbags, the gas generator and the stowed pilot and main parachutes, is secured within a front shield, made by EADS Space Transportation, and the back cover.

The Beagle 2 lander incorporates innovative design and packaging techniques. The mass ratio of scientific instruments to lander/probe is the highest ever attempted for a Mars mission. Everything is packed into a capsule-like structure 64 cm in diameter and 32 cm deep. The total mass of the Beagle 2 package at launch is 74 kg of which 68.8 kg is projected into the Martian atmosphere. The mass of the lander itself is just 33.2 kg of which 11.4 kg is instruments. The multi-functional suite of instruments mounted on the PAW(Position Adjustable Workbench) at the end of the motorised arm, has a mass of only 2.5 kg. These instruments include tools for the collection of soil samples as well as the stereo cameras, a microscope, two spectrometers and the environmental sensors.

EADS Astrium is the leading satellites company in Europe. Its activities cover complete civil and military telecommunications and Earth Observation systems, Science and Navigation programmes, and all spacecraft avionics and equipment. EADS Astrium is wholly owned by EADS SPACE. In 2002 EADS SPACE had a turnover of €2.2 billion and 12.300 employees in France, Germany, the United Kingdom and Spain. EADS Astrium’s satellite business activities

EADS Astrium Responsibilities on Beagle 2

 Mechanical systems including the design and development of the lander structure, the antenna, the solar panel substrate and the probe back cover.  Electrical systems including the design, development, manufacture and test of the Common Electronics pack and harness.  The design, development, manufacture and test of the Instrument Arm and its motorized hinges.  The design, development, manufacture and test of the main hinge, solar panel hinges and the clamp band  The design of the new main parachute

EADS Responsibilities on Beagle 2

EADS Space Transportation provided the heat shield for the Beagle 2 Mars probe. As Europe’s leading expert in Atmospheric Re-entry it was able to design a thermal protection system able to resist temperatures which could reach 1,600°C during entry into the Martian atmosphere, and yet maintain a temperature of less than 125°C inside the probe.

EADS SPACE Transportation proposed technical solutions and materials that had already been proven on the Atmospheric Re-entry Demonstrator (ARD), Europe’s first atmospheric re-entry vehicle, such as Norcoat made of cork powder and phenolic resin. The heat shield was made up of 23 tiles of four different types, all 8 mm thick. The back cover thermal protection comprised 15 tiles with thicknesses of 3 to 6 mm. Treatment and installation of the thermal protection were carried out in a sterile environment to prevent any microbiological contamination of Mars.

Technical Data Beagle 2

Mass: Total installed on Mars Express = 74 kg Total separated mass= 68.8 kg Total lander mass = 33.2kg including 11.4 kg of instruments

Power: Sunlight= 30 W Night time (useable)= 160 Whrs

Communications: Frequency UHF (437 MHz forward, 401 MHz return) Protocol CCSDS Proximity 1 Data Rates forward 2.8 kbps, return 2- 128 kbps Mass memory 1.28 Gbits

Processor: ERC 32 single chip

Schedule: Earliest date of landing 25 th Dec 2003 Nominal mission duration= 180 sols