Thermal Design and Analysis of the Beagle 2 Lander 2001-01-2280

The thermal design of the Mars lander Beagle 2 must ensure the probe survives all mission phases - in particular the lander must survive the extremes of the Martian weather during the Operational phase. To minimise political risks and to simplify the Cruise and Coast phase thermal designs, a baseline architecture for the lander which does not use radioisotope heater units (RHUs) has been conceived. This design relies on the absorption of solar energy during the day using a coated solar absorber unit (SAU) and the storage of this energy as sensible heat in order to maintain the temperature of the battery and critical electronics during the night with minimum energy demand. Extensive modelling of the lander for a range of environmental conditions has been performed to optimise the thermal design with respect to performance, mass and heater power.