The UK's Beagle 2, which disappeared during a landing attempt in 2003, is clearly visible in new photos from the Mars Reconnaissance Orbiter currently at the Red Planet

The lander was designed to hunt for signs of possible life on Mars and characterize Martian geology, weather and climate, among other tasks. Credit: NASA/JPL-Caltech/Univ. of Arizona/University of Leicester

The United Kingdom's Beagle 2 Mars lander, which mysteriously disappeared during a landing attempt over Christmas in 2003, has finally been found by a NASA spacecraft orbiting the Red Planet.

TheBeagle 2 Mars landeris clearly visible in new photos from NASA's sharp-eyedMars Reconnaissance Orbiter(MRO) in orbit around the Red Planet. The discovery shows that the probe landed successfully, but failed to unfold itself properly on the Martian surface, UK Space Agency officials announced today (Jan. 16).

The spacecraft, which hitched a ride to Mars on the European Space Agency's Mars Express mission, had not been heard from since it detached from that spacecraft on Dec. 19, 2003. Beagle 2 was supposed to land on Mars six days later, on Dec. 25. But when the lander never phoned home, many experts assumed Beagle 2 had crashed on Mars. Now, the mission's science team knows that's not the case. [The Search for Beagle 2 in Photos]

"The history of space exploration is marked by both success and failure," UK Space Agency Chief David Parkersaid in a statement. "This finding makes the case that Beagle 2 was more of a success than we previously knew and undoubtedly an important step in Europe's continuing exploration of Mars."

The search for Beagle 2 Thesearch for the Beagle 2 Mars landerin NASA's MRO images was initially performed by former ESA Mars Express operations team member Michael Croon, who worked with the Beagle 2 lander's science and industrial team to painstakingly review NASA images in the hope of finding the missing lander. Because of the small size of the clamshell-like Beagle 2 (the lander measured 7 feet across, or 2 meters, when unfolded), it was right at the limit of MRO's imaging capabilities, NASA officials said.

Images from MRO's HiRISE (High Resolution Science Experiment) camerashow that Beagle 2 indeed survived the harrowing entry, descent and landing sequence to touch down inside its target landing area in the Isidis Planitia region of Mars. It was about 3 miles (5 kilometers) from the center of its target landing zone, according to an ESA description. [The Best (and Worst) Mars Landings Ever]

"To be frank, I had all but given up hope of ever knowing what happened to Beagle 2," said former Beagle 2 mission manager Mark Sims, of the University of Leicester, in the UK Space Agency statement. "The images show that we came so close to achieving the goal of science on Mars. The images vindicate the hard work put in by many people and companies both here in the UK and around Europe and the world in building Beagle 2."

Beagle 2 appeared to have only a few of its four solar arrays deployed, perhaps three at most. The lander's main parachute was seen close by, and the lander's rear cover and drogue parachute appeared to be still attached to the lander's main body.

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Lost Mars Lander Found in NASA Photos