Rash heads doomed Beagle 2
Inquiry says ESA should have taken control of craft creation.
25 May 2004
LAURA NELSON

Poor organization and impetuosity appear to be the reasons for the failure of Beagle 2, the British Mars probe that should have landed on Christmas Day last year.

The details of a European Space Agency (ESA) and British National Space Centre (BNSC) inquiry are being kept secret at the request of the private investors in the project.

But the inquiry team published its recommendations on Monday, advising that future projects be more responsibly managed. Key suggestions were that future missions should be funded solely with public money and that ESA should take sole responsibility for projects.

"You've got to know who is giving orders to whom," says David Southwood, director of science at ESA.

http://www.nature.com/nsu/040524/040524-3.html