KICKING and screaming, the UK government and European Space Agency have been forced to publish the results of their inquiry into the failed Mars lander Beagle 2. It is a sad reflection on these organisations that Â鶹´«Ã½ had to invoke the UK’s new Freedom of Information Act to force the release. All other requests for publication – from MPs, taxpayers and even from Beagle’s own scientists and engineers – had been flatly rejected.
It is now clear why. The report is highly embarrassing, showing the project to have been beset by misjudgements from start to finish (see “Beagle 2 doomed from…
