The Beagle 2 lander, lost after it was slated to reach the surface of Mars in Dec. 2003, definitely did make it to the Red Planet.
In a press conference Friday, the UK Space Agency released new imagery showing Beagle 2 on Mars' surface, some 5km from the center of the expected landing area.
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According to UKSA, Beagle 2 appears to be in a partially deployed configuration, with some but not all of its solar panels open, and the parachutes still attached close by.
The UKSA hinted that the Beagle 2 lander might have been found on Wednesday. The lander was supposed to touch the surface of Mars on Dec. 25, but contact with it was lost, and all subsequent efforts to find it were unsuccessful -- primarily due to the small size of the lander, which measures less than 2m (6.6 feet) across when fully deployed.
Beagle 2 has ultimately been found with the help of a high-resolution camera on NASA’s Mars Reconnaissance Orbiter.
"I am delighted that Beagle 2 has finally been found on Mars," said professor Mark Sims of the University of Leicester who was working on the Beagle 2 project, in a statement.
"My Christmas day in 2003 alongside many others who worked on Beagle 2 was ruined by the disappointment of not receiving data from the surface of Mars... The images vindicate the hard work put in by many people and companies both here in the UK and around Europe and the world in building Beagle 2," he said.
Unfortunately, there is probably no way to retrieve the data Beagle 2 may have collected on its journey. According to UKSA, given the partial deployment of the lander, and the fact that its RF antenna is covered, reviving Beagle 2 is not an option.