Project structure blamed for Beagle 2 loss

摘要

For the European Space Agency (ESA) and the British government, the Beagle 2 Mars lander was a bold experiment in the delegation of project management to the people building the probe. But according to an official inquiry, this experiment was an expensive failure and should not be repeated. The ￡40-million (US$72-million) probe was lost as it attempted to land on Mars on Christmas Day last year. Future projects, the inquiry says, should be far more rigorously controlled and documented. The panel's summarized findings were released on 24 May and swiftly accepted by ESA. "The creative approach used with Beagle 2 was probably a step too far," admits David Southwood, the space agency's chief scientist. "Maybe I should have never let it go."