Anyone who has taken a walk through Kingswood Park may have noticed an unusual sign pointing the way to Mars. Below the sign is the name Colin Pillinger, a professor of planetary science and Mars explorer, who was born and brought up in Kingswood.
Professor Pillinger, who was always fascinated with the red planet, was known as the brains behind the famous British Beagle 2 Lander which set off on June 2, 2003, on board the European Space Agency’s Mars Express. The 20th anniversary of the launch was marked in the recent Journey to Mars Exhibition held at Aerospace Bristol.
On Christmas Day in 2003, Beagle 2 separated from the main spacecraft, entered Mars’ atmosphere with the automatic landing sequence starting. It was due to take eight minutes to land on the surface and send back a radio signal.
