The feature film explores Colin Pillinger's ambitious efforts to search for life on Mars through the ill-fated Beagle 2 lander. The production highlights the human perseverance behind the British spacecraft, which was long deemed lost until proof of its landing emerged posthumously. Audiences will see the story arrive in cinemas in 2027 under director Mackenzie Crook. It also covers Pillinger's development of the unmanned lander alongside his wife Judith while he served as a planetary sciences professor at the Open University.
Key points
Mackenzie Crook makes his feature film directorial debut with the project after working w…: Mackenzie Crook makes his feature film directorial debut with the project after working with Toby Jones on Detectorists.
NASA imagery confirmed in January 2015 that the Beagle 2 spacecraft had successfully touc…: NASA imagery confirmed in January 2015 that the Beagle 2 spacecraft had successfully touched down on Mars.
Confirmation of the landing came eight months after Colin Pillinger died from a brain hae…: Confirmation of the landing came eight months after Colin Pillinger died from a brain haemorrhage.
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Bafta-winning actors Toby Jones and Emily Watson have finished work on a film about the scientist behind Britain's first spacecraft to land on Mars, which got "lost".
Mars Express, directed by Mackenzie Crook, will see Jones play Colin Pillinger while Watson is his wife Judith.
The couple began developing the unmanned Beagle 2 probe to search for life on Mars while Pillinger was a professor of planetary sciences at the Open University in Milton Keynes. The probe went out of contact upon landing in December 2003, until it was finally spotted in 2015, after Pillinger died.
Crook said: "It's a complete honour to be telling the extraordinary story... for my first feature film as director."
Pillinger, originally from Kingswood near Bristol, became a familiar face in the 1990s as he sought public support and funding for the ambitious mission, enlisting celebrities and pop stars to help promote it.
Beagle 2 was launched into space on board the European Space Agency's Mars Express orbiter.
His Beagle 2 lander was due to touch down on 25 December 2003, but failed…
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