Beagle 2 lander may have operated on Mars

Combining computer simulation with high-resolution imaging, a team from the DeMontfort University in Leicester has determined the lander fully unfurled at least three of its four solar panels, and may even have taken data from the Martian surface for several months, but was unable to transmit information back to Earth or receive instructions. There is even a tantalising (but very slim) chance Beagle 2 might still be operational today.

Beagle two was part of the European Space Agency's Mars Express mission, and was equipped to sample the Martian surface soil and atmosphere, and analyse the samples for chemical compounds that might indicate the presence of past or current life. It was supposed to transmit back to earth on Christmas Day 2003, but no signal was ever received and the tiny static lander (around the diameter of a bicycle wheel) was assumed to have been destroyed and its parachute and airbag landing system deemed a failure.