Eu research 07 digital mag (1) by Blazon Publishing and Media Ltd

writing grant applications and lobbying people to go back and do a Beagle three.” There are in reality many reasons the Beagle 2 mission could be considered a success. The landing is of obvious importance for the credibility of the mission and the investment that went into the project but beyond that – as science often does in perceived failure – the true lessons become apparent by studying the processes of a project and what can be learned from them. Whilst success is obviously desired, a bit of failure can focus the analysis and go a long way. The first success story that the mission of Beagle 2 could claim was in the method it drummed up interest in the subject matter – largely led by Pillinger. In reality, before the discovery in January this year, Pillinger’s true legacy was already safe. He was a man who spearheaded an incredibly ambitious mission to Mars and his enthusiasm and ‘un-stuffy’ approach inspired young generations to get excited about space science. If Europe is to become a contender for space it must have young generations now that understand the potential and importantly who are motivated to participate and learn in the first place. The Chief Executive of the UK Space Agency, Dr David Parker, told the BBC that Professor Pillinger had played a huge part in raising the profile of the British space programme and he had inspired “young people to dream big dreams.” Pillinger’s own life is testament to the importance of why it’s important to start young with scientific ambition. In the BBC’s Desert Island Discs programme, Pillinger recalled “If I ever said as a child I can’t do this,” his father would reply, “There’s no such thing as can’t”. Indeed – inspiring public support in that classic PR friendly way has rubbed off a bit. Mark Simms and the British Space Agency are also involved in Lunar 1 – a crowdfunding mission to the moon. Crowdfunding may well become a method to circumnavigate funding from grant applications but it once again relies on public support and to a large degree exceptional PR, the like Colin excelled at. New blood in the space programme needs mentors and adventurers to be role models and Pillinger fitted the profile. His energy was infectious to many people around him and certainly affected many of his colleagues. Martin Bean, Vice-Chancellor, The Open University, acknowledged this by stating: “Professor Pillinger was not only an inspiration to us here at the OU, but to people across the world with his infectious enthusiasm for science and discovery.” All of this is all very well – but how can we say there was

success in the actual mission? We need to step back here and think about what happened in its entirety. Beagle 2’s legacy paved the way to miniaturised space technology, some of which is being given over to the ExoMars 2018 rover and being proposed for other space missions in planning. The probe pioneered new methods of project management and construction. The limited ‘complete probe’s’ size of 65kg meant that it had to have an integrated design as one entity. There were ‘no boxes’ as such, explained Mark Sims – it was a collective system driven by restricted parameters to work within. That said – some of the component parts of Beagle 2 consisted of technology that could be transferred into other market sectors – such as healthcare. For instance, part of the funding for the mission to Mars was provided from the Welcome Trust, a medical charity. They knew that some of the equipment developed for the mission could be converted for medical uses. They made a pact with Pillinger that he would help them if they helped finance his project. The Beagle 2’s mass spectrometer is an instrument that can identify unknown compounds. It is lightweight and survives extreme temperatures – whether that is the cold of Mars or the heat of being sterilised and it runs on low power (the space probe used less power than a light bulb). Researchers soon realised that it could be used to diagnose tuberculosis (TB) which kills near 2 million people a year. A prototype is being tested in trials in Malawi. As for space exploration - Beagle 2 is now more than ever the mission of second chances. It is the mission that gave the British and European space race a new lease of life to go further – to explore on the edge. It brought planetary science and industry together in a focused way. More than anything, however, it showed us the ways to do things. It showed us to be excited, brave and to take risks. Without these three elements the will to move forward and to explore what is around us, will grind to a halt. The mission goal of the Beagle 2 was to find signs of life – past or present. The legacy it leaves is a story of human endeavour but also of chance. It’s a story of hard graft, perseverance and innovation. It shows us all that however prepared we are, luck always has a say. It’s a story of heartache but ultimately – this year – a story of one of the greatest of human achievements, to land a space craft on an alien world. Finally, we must say congratulations to the Beagle 2 team and to the late Colin Pillinger – as one mystery of Mars has at last been solved.