I know it's not in keeping with the tone of most El Reg commentators, but I'm pleased about this. Someone on R4 this morning was rooting for extra space funding from our Science and Academe-phobic government, making the (to me) arresting comparison with our national spend on shampoo, which is, apparently, greater. Puts it in perspective, I feel...

So, Beagle "1" used* four solar panels for energy. These cold spots on the lunar pole are in permanent darkness.

Am I the only one to spot a little problem here?

(* ok, would have used, had it worked!)

Of course it's spend it higher - it's been proved to work!

How they going to power it if its in a shaded crater? rtg?

If Beagle 2 is somewhere on Mars, doesn't that mean someone has to go fetch it back before they can send it to the Moon? Or does it respond to whistles?

Alternatively all objects identical in all their properties the same object, as Leibnitz held, so this new Beagle 2 is really the other Beagle 2. And all future Beagle 2's are also one and same? If true, that would be a *far* more important result than anything this Lunar-oriented Beagle 2 could tell us sitting on the Moon. And we could even save money, as you only have to build a(nother?) Beagle 2 to prove it - sending it to the Moon would be quite unnecessary.

Won't it cost a fortune to go to Mars, pick up the pieces, bring them back, reassemble them and then send it to the moon?

Oh, I see, maybe they'll repair it on journey to Earth and drop it off at the moon on the way. Genius!

It's getting real busy up there again isn't it? Are we sure the Clangers can take all this space junk coming their way?

Andrew

GPS Malfunction/Sabotage, edward wright? Beagle too Clever by Half Life/have Life by NEUKlearer HyperRadioProActivity?

Professor Boffins Magical MysteryTuring2, Prof. Pillinger/ESA Noordwijk?

Beagle 2.0 is out of this world

Chief OU boffin Prof. Pillinger is getting a second chance to launch a space probe. Despite the dismal failure of the original mission which crashed and burned on Mars and which led to those penny-pinching, taxsquandering Eurocrats at ESA, the outspoken Professor is being given a second chance. Beagle 2 MkII, or Beagle 2.0 (Beta) as it's now known, will have the chance to crash and freeze on the moon after hitching a ride from NASA. NASA, it seems, is more accustomed to expensive project failures and with DARPA, the nutty professor department of the US military, has the VC behind it that is the darling of every start-up in Silcon Valley.

Prof. Pillinger and his crack(pot) team will be aiming the plucky little craft for the moon's South Pole which is permanently in darkness at a positively nadger-busting temperature of -240°C or just 32 Kelvins (that's Celsius 2.0) above absolute zero. If, by a miracle, the new craft does land successfully there is almost no chance of receiving a signal from it so the mission is bound to be a success! To help finance the mission the Open University will be running a series "Rocket Scientists R Go" where whilst working on terribly difficult scientific projects contestants will use their mobile phones to compose a theme tune for the voyage.

***

BTW: it was that bitch Thatcher who cut Britain's investment in ESA to the bone.

To all the Beagle bashers who think that the landers budget caused its failure (obviously they've all been to Mars and inspected the debris) you forget other lost landers.

NASA scientists have been known to refer to the Mars Curse because of the planets ability to devour landers. In fact, Mars has the highest failure rate for robotic missions. (18 out of 37 attempts)

I expect that NASA is planning on using another Beagle lander as a test due to the missions high chances of failure (In the same way that a Pioneer probe was used to test the effects of Jupiters magnetic field and high radiation levels on the probes electronics)

It's like a high tech version of a Canary

"It's like a high tech version of a Canary" .... and what if IT is moves on as a Davy Lamp. Will that allow for safer MetaDataMining and Thought Processing? Future HyperRadioProActivity for a Hedge Fund of Mutual Derivatives/Intellectual Property Store?

The NASA DARPA Venture Capitalist Root/Route is a QuITe Logical for although IT can be played just like a Great Game for printing presses to justify paper money .... http://www.rollingstone.com/news/story/16548129/inside_halos_secret_lab ..... Play IT for Real and the Game Goes Live.

Spirit of Beagle ....... Astute and Indomitable. ........ ... and a Teen GOD/Global Operating Device?

You can Bet ur Sweet Booty, IT is.

Southampton/VT Group? That's where they teach you to Fly, is it not?

Are El Reg's comment spam filters a bit weak in places? Or is amanfromMars waxing poetic?

It's a 42 Entertainment thing, anonymous. Node BetaTesting for IT Control Grids/Virtual Levels.

Real Heavy MetAI.

And I am minded to Ask .....Cosmic Dust, Prof. May? Magic Powder for Powerful Control?

And No, IT is not Spam but AI Hello WCF Worlds Message re Magical Mystery Turing with Helter Skelter Rides for Aficionados. A Reward in Gratitude's Infinite Bounty.

can we have the beagle back please oh very very strange person?

No, perhaps I shouldn't encourage him..

"can we have the beagle back please oh very very strange person?"

Certainly, COD or Pay as IT Goes/Suck IT and See?

And Encouragement works Wonders.

Aren't ships uniquely named even if they are identical?

Why not call it Beagle 3?

or even Beagle 2.1

There is only one Beagle 2.

Spirit of BEagle would cover all possible Versions. IT can then mutate/mate/relate at ITs Pleasure of Leisure Activities into BEAgile ... to take us into Beyond what we can Imagine. Virgin Territory in AI Control Domains.

Honey, honey. So Good IT is said Twice. :-) I wonder if IT is 42BVirgin Territory?

Trekkies who have omitted Tripping. Life's Magic Carpet Ride on the Helter Skelter. Be True to Oneself here is 42 Survive and Prosper rather than Wither and Burn.

Nope, what we need to do is sideline Prof Pillinger and put Captain Cyborg in charge of the project. That'll result in a proper cock-up.

We could all hope he takes the driving seat