Roke on Mars: The technology behind the Beagle 2 Mars Lander

Key parts of our Miniature Radar Altimeters (MRAs) have been thoroughly tested on a 200 million kilometre flight through space to Mars, as part of the Beagle 2 Mars Lander.

We're proud to have worked on the British Beagle 2 Mars Lander. Our miniature radar altimeter was used to deploy the air bags to cushion its landing on Mars on Christmas Day 2003.

Infamously, contact was lost with the lander when it began its descent to the Martian surface. In 2015, NASA found that the loss of communication was caused by the lander’s solar panels failing to deploy, and not our altimeter trigger, which had worked exactly as intended. Much to our relief!

We've developed two types of MRA, the Type 1, an ideal fit for target drones that operate at high speeds and require high maneuverability, and the Type 2, ideal for landing unmanned platforms precisely and safely in a range of conditions.