To address one of the most important questions in planetary science Is there life on Mars? The scientific community must turn to less costly means of exploring the surface of the Red Planet. The United Kingdom's Beagle 2 Mars lander concept was a small meter-size lander with a scientific payload constituting a large proportion of the flown mass designed to supply answers to the question about life on Mars. A possible reason why Beagle 2 did not send any data was that it was a one-off attempt to land. As Steve Squyres said at the time: "It's difficult to land on Mars - if you want to succeed you have to send two of everything"

Gibson, Everett K.

Hurst, S. J.

Pillinger, C. T.

Richter, L.

Sims, M. R.

Wright, I. P.

NASA Technical Reports Server

HOW DO YOU ANSWER THE LIFE ON MARS QUESTION? USE MULTIPLE SMALL LANDERS LIKE BEAGLE 2 
E. K. Gibson1, C. T. Pillinger2, I.P. Wright2, S.J. Hurst3, L Richter4 and M.R. Sims5. 1KR, ARES, NASA-JSC, Hous-
ton, TX 77058.  2Planetary and Space Sciences Division, The Open University, Milton Keynes MK7 6AA, UK  
3EADS Astrium Ltd, Stevenage, UK SG1 2AS, UK, 4Kayser-Threde, 81379 Munich, Germany and 5Dept. of Space 
Sciences, Univ. of Leicester, Leicester, UK.  [everett.k.gibson@nasa.gov].  
 
To address one of the most important ques-
tions in planetary science “Is there life on Mars”? The 
scientific community must turn to less costly means of 
exploring the surface of the Red Planet.  The United 
Kingdom's Beagle 2 Mars lander concept was a small 
meter-size lander with a scientific payload constituting 
a large proportion of the flown mass designed to sup-
ply answers to the question about life on Mars.  A pos-
sible reason why Beagle 2 did not send any data was 
that it was a one-off attempt to land. As Steve Squyres 
said at the time: “It’s difficult to land on Mars - if you 
want to succeed you have to send two of everything”.  
A new approach utilizing the Beagle 2 small 
lander design would be to use a spacecraft carrier for 
transporting extensively tested multiple Beagle 2-like 
landers to Mars and target selective sites of high sci-
ence priority.  Cooperative work between the U.S. and 
the UK team that conceived the Beagle 2 lander should 
begin to examine the potential of using multiple Bea-
gle 2 landers on a common carrier for Mars Explora-
tion.  Multiple surface landers could be deployed and 
the probability of successfully landing at several sites 
on the surface would have a great scientific return.  
The loss of a couple of the landers would not be a ma-
jor loss to the overall mission's scientific and technical 
goals. 
Beagle 2 as launched on Mars Express in 
2003 was a 68 kg probe with a 33 kg lander carrying 
an 11 kg science payload. It was designed, developed 
and built in the United Kingdom with some contribu-
tions from US based companies.  Beagle 2 was in-
tended to deliver to the martian surface a payload 
which had the highest percentage of science instru-
ments to landed spacecraft mass of any planetary mis-
sion launched to date.  Beagle 2 was launched on June 
2nd with Mars Express on a Soyuz-Fregat rocket from 
the Baikonur Cosmodrome in Kazakhstan.  It was tar-
geted to land on Mars on December 25th in Isidis Plani-
tia (~11.5oN and 275oW), a large sedimentary basin 
that overlies the boundary between ancient highlands 
and northern plains.   Isidis Planitia, the third largest 
basin on Mars, which is possibly filled with sediment 
deposited at the bottom of long-standing lakes or seas, 
offers an ideal environment for preserving traces of 
life. However, Beagle 2 had as its focus the goals of 
establishing whether evidence for life exists now or in 
the past on Mars and whether conditions there were 
ever suitable to support life and could be appropriate to 
many other target landing sites. 
Beagle 2 was developed to search for organic 
material and other volatiles on and below the surface 
of Mars in addition to studying the inorganic chemistry 
and mineralogy.  Important for life detection experi-
ments, it included a mechanical Mole to obtain sam-
ples from below the surface and under rocks places 
which might be protected from harsh oxidizing condi-
tions.  To sample the interior of rock and consider past 
life on Mars a corer/grinder was included. A pair of 
stereo cameras could image the landing site and a mi-
croscope was available for the examination of 
cleaned/ground rock surfaces.  Solid samples were to 
be chemically analyzed using chemical X-ray and min-
eralogical Mossbauer spectrometers.  A gas analysis 
package (GAP, 5.5 kg) was included for organics and 
other light element species (e.g. carbonates and water) 
and measurement of their isotopic compositions for 
solids, liquids and the atmosphere. The sample extrac-
tion process, stepped combustion, had been extensively 
evaluated with laboratory meteorite specimens and is 
capable of detecting every atom of carbon (and nitro-
gen) in all its chemical forms. Other methods of 
chemically converting light elements into the species 
most appropriate (e.g. splitting water into the compo-
nent elements) for determining geologically precision 
isotope ratios were available in the gas-processing 
package. 
 A multiple degrees of freedom mechanical 
arm and PAW (position adjustable workbench) could 
be used for science operations along with sample ac-
quisition.  Instruments attached to the PAW included: 
stereo cameras, Mossbauer and X-ray fluorescence 
instruments, micro-scope, environmental sensors, the 
rock corer/grinder, a spoon, mirror, brushes, an illumi-
nation device (torch) and facilities to deploy and re-
trieve the Mole for acquisition of subsurface at depths 
of 1 to 2 meters. The camera had 14 filters for mineral 
composition, dust and water vapor detection.  The mi-
croscope’s camera was designed for viewing the size 
(down to 4 microns) and shape of dust particles, rock 
surfaces, microfossils and the characteristics of the 
samples prior to introduction into the GAP.  The cam-
era featured 4 color capability (red, green, blue and UV 
fluorescence), a depth of focus of 40 micrometers and 
translation stage of +3 millimeters. 
At the heart of the life detection package was 
a mass spectrometer with collectors at fixed masses for 
precise isotopic ratio measurements and voltage scan-
ning for spectral analysis.  Primary aim of the GAP 
was to search for the presence of bulk constituents, 
https://ntrs.nasa.gov/search.jsp?R=20120015954 2019-08-30T22:47:08+00:00Z
“How do you answer the Life on Mars Question?”   Gibson et al.   
 
 
 
individual species and isotopic fractionations for both 
extinct and extent life along with studying the low-
temperature geochemical cycles of the hydrogen, car-
bon, nitrogen and oxygen components.  The mass 
spectrometer was a magnetic sector instrument (mass 
range of 1 to 140 amu) which could be operated in 
both the static and dynamic modes.  Triple Faraday 
collector arrays were used for C, N and O ratios along 
with a double Faraday array for H/D.  Pulse counting 
electron multiplier was employed for noble gases and 
some other species.  Detection limits were at the pico-
mole level (ppm from milligram samples) for static 
operation and high precision isotopic measurements 
made in the dynamic mode.  Sample processing and 
preparation system consisted of 10 reaction vessels 
along blanks with reference gases.  Sample ovens at-
tached to the manifold were capable of being heated to 
>1000oC during sample combustion.  Surface, subsur-
face materials and interior rock specimens could be 
combusted in pure oxygen gas at various temperature 
intervals in a stepped fashion to release organic matter 
and volatiles according to speciation.  A chemical 
processing system was capable of a variety of conver-
sion reactions.  Gases could be manipulated either by 
cryogenic or gas/solid reversible reactions and passed 
through the vacuum system. There were three modes 
of operation:  qualitative and quantitative analysis and 
precise isotopic measurements. 
Four main types of analysis could be carried 
out by the GAP: (1) search for organic matter, (2) 
stepped combustion for total light element content and 
speciation, (3) atmospheric analysis and (4) K/Ar age 
determinations.  Isotopic measurement of H/D, 
13C/12C, 15N/14N and 18O/16O was possible. A search for 
trace quantities of biogenic methane within the martian 
atmosphere could be achieved by pre-concentration of 
samples.  The procedures would have been feasible at 
the levels of methane currently estimated (<100 ppb) 
for Mars.  The mass spectrometer could be operated in 
the static mode for the CH4 detection at the highest 
sensitivities. Since the half-life of methane against 
oxidation in the atmosphere of Mars is believed to be 
<300 years any methane would presumably have been 
from a biogenic source (i.e. methanogenic bacteria) 
possibly confirmable from isotopic measurements.   
An environmental sensor system for surface tempera-
tures, atmospheric pressures, wind speed and direction 
accompanied atmospheric sampling and was to be used 
for operations.  Additional sensors such as salinity and 
pH along with the “life-detection” on a chip may be 
considered for future addition to the payload.  
 Elsewhere the lander had calibation target and 
radiation environment, (total dose and rate) monitors 
were included.  UV flux at the lander would be meas-
ured at various wavelengths longer than 200nm, in-
formation relevant for understanding survival of organ-
ics.  A dust sensor package would have provided in-
formation pertinent to future human exploration. 
The high sensitivity isotopic analysis strategy 
of Beagle 2 made no assumptions about the biochemis-
try on Mars but would provide clues to past life as in-
ferred from the isotopic fractionation of organic carbon 
species relative to inorganic forms of the element (car-
bonates/atmospheric CO2). All measurements would 
be made directly on Mars thereby avoiding criticisms 
concerning contamination on Earth leveled at meteor-
ite studies. The Beagle 2 systems and its science pay-
load were built under conditions to meet COSPAR 
level IV Planetary Protection protocols in an aseptic 
assembly facility after sterilization. 
No specific reason could be found as to why 
Beagle 2 did not communicate with Earth after land-
ing. The Beagle 2 teams “Lessons Learned” document 
reached the conclusion that every part of the program 
except the actual landing on Mars (that was tested dur-
ing the mission) couldn’t have or shouldn’t have 
worked. However there is no doubt that the martian 
atmospheric conditions near to the end of the dust 
storm season were not the most favorable for a direct 
entry trajectory and parachute/gas-bag landing. Such 
difficulties would be avoidable for a multi-probe mis-
sion flown on an orbiter. 
A number of studies following on from the 
Beagle 2 concept have been made: (i) Beagle 2007, a 
rapid reuse of the technology in more favorable condi-
tions, (ii) Beagle 2e (evolution) a lander redesign to 
ensure a greater chance of survival through elimination 
of possible failure modes and (iii) BeagleNet, a multi-
ple lander mission including small roving vehicles and 
geophysical sensors. Others have considered missions 
involving six Beagle 2-type landers (ARTEMIS, PI-
David Paige) or one having the gas analysis pack-
age/mass spectrometer of Beagle 2 as a part of their 
multiple lander system design (MARGE, Mars Au-
tonomous Rovers for Geoscience Exploration, PI Mike 
Malin). 
Beagle 2 was not only a low resource (mass 
and power) mission but it was also built at an 
incredibly low cost,  estimates put the budget at below 
£50M ($80M, 2003 prices) for a single lander. The 
low-cost approach offers great science for minimal 
financial outlay. The possibility of using the Beagle 2 
design for further exploration activities with spacecraft 
orbiting Mars, asteroids, etc. that could place multiple 
Beagle 2-like landers on planetary surfaces must be 
considered as one of the low-cost, international partner 
options for future Mars Exploration. 
 
 
 


How Do You Answer the Life on Mars Question? Use Multiple Small Landers Like Beagle 2

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