Understand
How Professor Colin Pillinger used Britpop band Blur and unconventional marketing to help launch Beagle 2 to Mars
Overview
A series of plaques has been unveiled across the UK to celebrate Beagle 2, the country's first spacecraft to reach another planet. Led by maverick scientist Professor Colin Pillinger, the low-cost mission used unorthodox public engagement—including enlisting the Britpop band Blur for a call-sign and artist Damien Hirst for a calibration target—to secure public and financial backing. Although initially deemed a failure after failing to transmit a signal upon reaching Mars in December 2003, NASA images discovered years later that the lander had safely touched down, but its solar panels failed to fully open, trapping its antenna.
Key points
- Plaques are being unveiled across the UK to celebrate Beagle 2, Britain's first spacecraft to reach another planet.
- Professor Colin Pillinger conceived the Beagle 2 lander to study Mars for signs of life, hitching a ride on the European Space Agency's Mars Express.
- Pillinger used unconventional publicity, such as placing a model in a supermarket trolley, to capture public imagination and secure funding.
- The project collaborated with cultural figures, including Britpop band Blur creating a call-sign and Damien Hirst designing a calibration target.
- Beagle 2 launched on 2 June 2003 and arrived at Mars on Christmas Day, but failed to transmit a signal, leading to initial perceptions of mission failure.
- Pillinger died in May 2014 believing the mission had failed, but NASA images later revealed the lander had landed safely with only its solar panels failing to open.