Stage set for Mars Christmas landing
At 11.10am yesterday, the probe separated from the European Space Agency's Mars Express orbiter on the final leg of its 250 million mile journey.
Scientists said the "spin-up and ejection" manoeuvre was crucial. Had it failed there would have been no landing and, saddled with extra mass, Mars Express could not have entered its desired orbit.
But the eject mechanism worked perfectly, spinning Beagle 2 to keep it stable like a rugby ball thrown through the air.
"Fantastic news. We can confirm we have Beagle 2 separated successfully," Mike McKay, flight director at the control centre in Darmstadt, Germany announced.
His words were drowned out by claps and cheers from the audience of scientists, engineers and guests.
Both Beagle 2 and Mars Express are due to reach the Red Planet at about the same time early on Christmas Day.
While Mars Express goes into orbit around the planet, Beagle 2 will parachute down to the surface to start a 180-day mission searching for signs of life.
Planetary scientist Professor Colin Pillinger, from The Open University, who conceived the idea of Beagle 2 six years ago, said: "We were about to play a two-legged match and both of them were away, a long way away in space.
"We've travelled 250 million miles, we've got a one-nil result in the first leg: we're playing the second leg on Christmas morning."
The 143 million mission began in June when a Russian rocket launched Mars Express into space from the Baikonur space port in Kazakhstan.
In October, the European Space Agency probe was blasted with radiation from a powerful solar flare which temporarily blinded its navigation system. But the spacecraft's electrical system survived, and Beagle 2 was unscathed.
Before yesterday's separation, Mars Express had to be precisely positioned to set Beagle 2 on the correct course for a landing on Mars.
The probe will be coasting the final 1.7 million miles and cannot be controlled any further from Earth. Beagle 2 is heading for Isidis Planitia, a large lowland basin north of the Martian equator where scientists believe there was once water and possibly life.
Protected by three inflatable gas bags, the lander is expected to bounce down like a beach ball, coming to rest at precisely 2.54am GMT.
After hurtling into the Martian atmosphere at 12,500mph, friction on the craft's heat shield will break its fall before the main parachute is deployed.
Even so, Beagle 2 will hit the ground at 36mph and bounce 12 times before cutting free from the gas bags.
Despite being no bigger than a dustbin lid and weighing less than 70 kilograms, the clam-like craft is packed with state-of-the-art electronics. Once on the ground, it will open out like a pocket watch to expose an array of solar panels and instruments.
Although it cannot move, the lander has an extendable arm allowing it to reach out and gather samples. It is equipped with a rock drill and grinder, and a "mole" that can burrow under the ground, collecting soil from a depth of 1.5 metres.
Rock and soil samples will be dropped into an onboard laboratory designed to spot the chemical signatures of life. Beagle 2 will also sample the atmosphere, checking for methane a certain indicator of life that is still thriving.
Scientists think there is an outside chance of microbes similar to those which exist in very harsh conditions on Earth surviving on Mars.
