Mars Express swoops down for Beagle search

Mission controllers prepared for a crucial manoeuvre today to redirect Europe’s Mars orbiter nearer to the Red Planet’s poles – the first step in pushing it into a lower orbit where it can listen for the missing Beagle 2 surface probe.

The British-built Beagle 2 is believed to have reached the Martian surface early on Christmas Day, its impact softened by gas bags and parachutes. But several attempts to hear its signal have not been successful.