Beagle 2

High school (ages 12+)
Space & Astronomy

Name:

Date:

Step 1 · Read the article

Open the article and read it at the level above. Then answer the questions below in your own words.

https://smallwhale.org/articles/beagle-2

Write what each word means, using the article.

Do not copy the article. Write two things you learned, the way you would explain them to a friend.

Answers below are taken from the article’s stored facts, so they match what the student read.

1. What is the spacecraft type?British astrobiology lander
2. What is the mission consortium?European Space Agency (ESA)
3. What was Beagle 2 and why was it important?Beagle 2 was a small robot lander from the United Kingdom that tried to find life on Mars. It carried a robotic arm, a drill, and a microscope to look for signs of life in the soil and rocks.
4. Why did Beagle 2 get lost and how was that discovered?The lander could not talk to Earth because two of its four solar panels did not open fully. In 2015, NASA’s Mars Reconnaissance Orbiter took pictures that showed the panels were still closed and blocking the antenna.

Astrobiology: The interdisciplinary scientific field that studies the origins, evolution, and distribution of life in the universe.
Mars Express: The first European Space Agency (ESA) mission dedicated to exploring Mars, launched in 2003.
Mars Reconnaissance Orbiter (MRO): A powerful NASA spacecraft orbiting Mars, equipped with advanced cameras for high-resolution imaging of the planet's surface.
Biosignatures: Substances, patterns, or phenomena that provide evidence of past or present life.