Proposed Payload
- Advanced solar cell technology, meaning two disc-shaped solar arrays (as opposed to the previous four)
- Fanfold system - so the top of the vehicle remains horizontal (location for the main UHF antenna)
- Powerful X-band (8.0 to 12.0 GHz) antenna for direct vehicle-to-Earth radio link on the vehicle's main shell, to provide real-time descent statistics
- New lithium-ion battery technology - to be able to operate at lower temperatures, meaning less power wasted on heating - a possible 60% capacity boost to that of Beagle 2
- Deadbeat airbags, which inflate just before touch-down, and gently deflate during landing, so that the probe could come to a stop where it lands, and not bounce to a stop.
- Life-chips, which detect the presence of amino acids.
Read more about this topic: Beagle 2: Evolution
Famous quotes containing the word proposed:
“It has been proposed that the town should adopt for its coat of arms a field verdant, with the Concord circling nine times round.”
—Henry David Thoreau (1817–1862)