Scientists reconstructed the lost Mars lander’s final moments – new information on the wind conditions

The Beagle 2 lander was part of ESA’s Mars Express mission in 2003. After being released from its carrier spacecraft, Beagle 2 was lost – likely due to a landing failure. Roughly a decade later, high-resolution images taken from orbit revealed Beagle 2 on the Martian surface.

Around the lander, its jettisoned parachutes and heat shield can be seen scattered on the surface. By reconstructing the descent paths of these components, scientists inferred the wind conditions present at the time of landing. The results suggest that the winds did not play a major role in the failure but do provide new insight into the atmospheric circulation on Mars.

Just like on Earth, circulation patterns on Mars influence how heat, moisture, and other atmospheric components are distributed. Data from NASA’s Curiosity and Perseverance rovers – including humidity and pressure measurements provided by the Finnish Meteorological Institute – have contributed to our understanding. Since direct wind measurements on Mars are rare and technically demanding, researchers use alternative methods, such as visual tracking of dust devils, clouds – and in this case, a failed lander’s descent.

These findings support ongoing Mars observations and help improve atmospheric models used in future missions.

More information

Senior Scientist Mark Paton, the Finnish Meteorological Institute, tel. +358 50 430 2984, mark.paton@fmi.fi

Reference: M.D. Paton, P.M. Grindrod, T. Bertrand, J.M. Davis, A.-M. Harri, H. Savijärvi, and C. Segonne (2025). Inferred wind and surface conditions during the descent and landing of Beagle 2 on Mars. Icarus, 441, 116728.