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:
“I have always been, am, and propose to remain a mere scholar. All that I have ever proposed to myself is to say, this and this I have learned; thus and thus have I learned it; go thou and learn better; but do not thrust on my shoulders the responsibility for your own laziness if you elect to take, on my authority, conclusions the value of which you ought to have tested for yourself.”
—Thomas Henry Huxley (1825–95)