THE failure of the Mars lander Beagle 2 was due to 鈥渃ock-ups and conspiracy鈥�, said a 快猫短视频 editorial (12 February, p 5). I asked the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry, Patricia Hewitt, what had been learned from the mission. She replied that she and her advisers considered that in many ways it was a success: 鈥淭he Beagle 2 project delivered substantial benefits in positioning the UK to participate in future planetary exploration; in strengthening links between the academic and industrial communities; and in connecting the UK鈥檚 science community with the wider society.鈥�
And, yes, it taught many important lessons. The government accepted the recommendations of the Commission of Inquiry set up by the European Space Agency (ESA) and the UK, published in May 2004. On 8 February, the government further clarified its position by publishing its response to the parliamentary science and technology committee鈥檚 report into Beagle 2.
The project was always viewed as high-risk, said Hewitt, but this was balanced by the potentially high scientific return. Despite the ESA investigation, no definitive technical explanation for the loss of Beagle 2 has yet been identified. As the science and technology committee report notes: 鈥淥n another day, the lander might have made it.鈥�
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The government accepted the key conclusion of both reports, that it would have been better if the project had received full funding right from the outset. However, as the committee noted, at that time the relevant research council did not have the financial flexibility to consider a project of the nature and size of Beagle 2. The government has conceded this point and is now working with ESA to improve financial arrangements before new collaborative projects begin. The first fruit of this has been the signing of a multilateral agreement to involve the UK in building the Mid-Infra-Red Instrument (MIRI) for NASA鈥檚 James Webb Space Telescope.
The UK is adopting more formal management of its contribution to an instrument package that will fly on the Laser Interferometer Space Antenna Pathfinder spacecraft 鈥� a test craft to pave the way for LISA, the first space-based gravitational wave observatory.
The government has also pledged money to allow more flexible spending on any unexpected but high-priority science projects that may emerge. The funding 鈥� 拢35 million a year from 2006 to 2007 鈥� is a significant sum and, as outlined in the government paper Science & Innovation Investment Framework 2004-2014, is meant to go 鈥渨here it is necessary to focus research effort, build national capacity (including infrastructure) or to seize opportunities from international partnership鈥�.
The 快猫短视频 editorial errs in its assertion that the publication of the ESA report was instrumental in this decision, Hewitt said. The government had been reviewing the matter for some time, as the public record of the Public Accounts Committee hearing on 24 November 2004 into the UK鈥檚 space activities clearly shows.
In my lay view, the Beagle 2 story should be viewed as an instructive episode rather than a fiasco.
