Scientists can't tell if probe landed on Mars

LONDON — Scientists using a radio telescope failed to determine Thursday night if Europe's first Mars lander had reached the Red Planet, a government agency said.

More than 19 hours after the tiny Beagle 2 should have touched down, Jodrell Bank Observatory in Cheshire, England, began scanning the planet's surface for a signal — about as powerful as that of a mobile phone.

Taking advantage of the planet's position at the end of the Martian night, the researchers trained their powerful telescope on the surface for about two hours starting at 5 p.m. EST.

"Jodrell Bank listened for Beagle 2 tonight, but did not detect a transmission," the physics and astronomy research agency said. Its brief statement only added that the next chance to try to confirm the probe's arrival would come at 6:15 p.m. Friday (11:15 a.m. MST).

Earlier, European space officials cheered as Beagle 2's experiment-crammed Mars Express mother ship successfully slid into Martian orbit. That was a make-or-break task since the craft is supposed to beam back the data gathered by the lander from the surface, as well as do its own scanning and mapping.

The $370 million mission aims to search for evidence of life on Mars. Beagle was supposed to have plunged into the Martian atmosphere for 7 1/2 minutes and landed on the surface at 9:45 p.m. EST Wednesday, its impact softened by parachutes and gas bags. Once there, its antennae were to flip open and begin transmitting home.

A separate craft already in orbit — the U.S. Mars Odyssey — couldn't detect the probe's signal on its first pass over the landing site.

"It's a bit disappointing but it's not the end of the world. Please don't go away from here believing we've lost the spacecraft," said Colin Pillinger, Beagle 2 project's lead scientist.

Officials said the 143-pound Beagle could have landed with its antenna pointing at the wrong angle for Odyssey, or the Martian cold could have distorted the radio frequency it emits.

But space scientists said they had several more chances to hear from it and remained optimistic about Europe's first mission to search for signs of past or present life on Mars.

Also, the Mars Express, which turned Beagle loose six days earlier, should be able to make contact with the lander in a few days after adjusting its orbit.