Mars exploration has a chequered history. The planet is littered with the remains of spacecraft that have been lost in action. The fate of Beagle 2 remains uncertain but it is far too early to write it off. The agony goes on for the mission scientists who have spent sleepless nights waiting for news of their "baby". But, whatever happens, there is plenty of cause for celebration. The UK has much to be proud of for building a Mars spacecraft on a tiny budget against all the odds. Professor Colin Pillinger says it would be foolish to give up hope until Mars Express has made attempts to contact the probe in January. But he says the money spent on the mission will not be wasted - there is a return. "I think the most important thing to come out of this is that we've demonstrated the British public wants to do space science," he told BBC News Online.

Beagle is an inspiration to young people who might take up science and engineering, he adds, and has provided tangible benefits in training those who have worked on the mission so far. Meanwhile, we must not lose sight of the fact that Europe's Mars Express, Beagle's mothership and the mainstay of the mission, has made it safely into orbit.

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