Europe's Faster, Cheaper Mars Mission
June 2 -- It's small, lightweight and simple in design. And European scientists hope it will become the little spaceship that could.
The European Space Agency launched its first mission to Mars today in the form of a disc-like ship carrying a compact lander named the Beagle 2. The robots' main mission is to find signs of life — past or present — on or just under Mars' surface.
The Mars Express mission was put together in record time (five years) and with a humble budget (an estimated $60 million, or nearly eight times less than the production and launch cost of one of NASA's upcoming Mars landers).
In fact, the project's streamlined design and thrift echoes a previous NASA mantra: "faster, better, cheaper." But that slogan, coined by former NASA Administrator Dan Goldin, was quickly abandoned after the back-to-back failures of a NASA Mars orbiter and lander in 1999 and 2000.
This "Beagle" has one arm, a paw and 12 ovens.
The scientists behind Mars Express say they've learned from NASA's past mistakes and have relied on old models and kept new designs simple to avoid trouble.
"My philosophy is if you don't have any money, you have to think harder," said Colin Pillinger, lead scientist of the mission, making a point that he has repeated to media outlets around the world.
Something Borrowed, Something New
Pillinger, who is based at the Open University in Milton Keynes, England, explains the mostly university-based team of scientists behind Mars Express has toiled with "absolute focus" for the past five years to ensure their spaceship and lander won't fail.
Many of the tools on board the Mars Express spacecraft, from stereo cameras to an infrared camera to ground-penetrating radar, were borrowed from a previous mission, Russia's Mars 96 (a failed mission that was actually delayed until 1998).
And, unlike NASA's landers, which are due to arrive at the Red Planet just days after the European mission, the Beagle 2 won't be able to roam around Mars' surface.
