Images Dated 16th December 2003

Beagle 2 landing on Mars

Beagle 2 probe landing on Mars, computer artwork. Its heat shield is glowing as it falls through the Martian atmosphere. This British probe was carried to Mars by the European Space Agency's Mars Express spacecraft, which was launched in June 2003. Beagle 2 will look for signs of ancient life on Mars, by studying soil samples. It will look for traces of water and residues from organic material. It also carries three cameras, which will provide panoramic views and microscopic studies of rocks. Beagle 2 will be deployed on 19th December 2003, and will land on Mars on 25th December

© CHRISTIAN DARKIN/SCIENCE PHOTO LIBRARY

DNA

DNA, conceptual computer artwork. Deoxyribonucleic acid is the molecule that controls the growth, development and functioning of all living things. It comprises a pair of sugar-phosphate strands spiralling around each other in a double helix. The strands are linked by the interactions between bases on each strand. There are four types of base: adenine (A), thymine (T), cytosine (C) and guanine (G). A only links to T, and C only links to G, making each strand complementary to its partner. DNA encodes information as a sequence of base pairs. The strands contain sections called genes, which are recipes for proteins, the main structural and functional components of the body

© PASIEKA/SCIENCE PHOTO LIBRARY