Astronotes Armagh Planetarium's Stellar Blog! ... Space Flight . ... Beagle 2 was a very different Mars lander. ... The project was rushed to meet the Mars Express launch deadline and short of cash as the anticipated flood of commercial sponsorship never happened. ... Between being set free from Mars Express and its planned landing, Beagle was mute by design, it could not send telemetry home until after touchdown. ... What did happen to Beagle 2? ... The last view of Beagle 2 from Mars Express. ...