Beagle 2

The Beagle 2 was a small spaceship that was developed by scientists from the United Kingdom. It was sent to Mars in 2003 to study the planet and look for signs of life.

The spaceship was designed to land on Mars and then use a robotic arm to collect soil and rock samples, which would be analyzed in a small laboratory inside the spacecraft. It was also equipped with special instruments and cameras to take pictures and gather information about the planet's atmosphere and environment.

Unfortunately, after the spaceship was launched, it disappeared and no one knew what happened to it. Scientists were worried that the spaceship had crashed and been destroyed or lost in space.

Years later, in 2015, a NASA orbiter was able to take pictures of the planet's surface and it found the Beagle 2! It had landed safely on Mars but one of its solar panels did not unfold properly, which meant it couldn't get enough energy from the sun to operate. This is why the scientists on Earth had not been able to communicate with it.

Although the Beagle 2 did not complete its mission, it was an important step for human exploration of Mars and taught scientists valuable lessons about designing and launching spaceships.