![](\"http:\/\/cyber.law.harvard.edu\/blogs\/static\/dowbrigade\/bbegle.jpg\")
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LONDON,
\n Dec. 19 Europe’s first attempt to land an unmanned probe on Mars entered
\n its final phase on Friday when a disc-shaped landing craft named Beagle
\n II separated from the Mars Express spaceship and began a series of maneuvers
\n to orbit the red planet before bouncing onto the surface early on Christmas
\n Day.<\/p>\n
The Beagle II is named for the ship that took Charles Darwin around
\n the world, but British tabloids have already engaged in some space age
\n wordplay on the 1969 American moon landing, announcing with pride, "The
\n Beagle Has Landed."<\/p>\n
If it survives the descent and landing, the Beagle II is designed to
\n pop open, raise its solar panels and, eventually, use robotic arms
\n and a collection of sniffers, spectrometers and digging devices to
\n search for signs of carbon, water or bacteria on and beneath the surface
\n of Mars.<\/p>\n
from the LONDON, Dec. 19 Europe’s first attempt to land an unmanned probe on Mars entered its final phase on Friday when a disc-shaped landing craft named Beagle II separated from the Mars Express spaceship and began a series of maneuvers to … Continue reading
\n New York Times<\/a><\/p>\n<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<\/table>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"