Beagle 2 was a British-led Mars lander designed to search for evidence of life on the Red Planet as part of the ESA’s Mars Express mission. Launched in 2003, the probe was to conduct a variety of experiments, including analyzing soil samples and assessing the climate. After being released from the Mars Express spacecraft on December 19, Beagle 2 was set to land on the Martian surface on December 25. However, as the designated landing time approached, signals from the probe halted unexpectedly, sparking a wave of speculation and concern regarding its status. Scientists and engineers had hoped that Beagle 2 would provide groundbreaking discoveries about Mars' past and its potential to harbor life.

The design of Beagle 2 included solar panels for energy and a suite of scientific instruments packed into a compact structure. When the probe failed to make contact, mission control teams engaged in extensive troubleshooting, attempting to determine if the craft had successfully landed or if it had met an untimely fate. Despite initial optimism, efforts to reconnect remained unsuccessful, leading to doubts about the probe's operational status. The uncertainty lingered until the eventual discovery of Beagle 2's remains on the Martian surface in 2015, confirming that it had landed but experienced a failure to fully deploy its communication antenna.