STAFF at a North-East company that helped to create the Beagle 2 are keeping their fingers crossed that the missing probe is contacted soon.
Northern Precision Engineering (NPE), of Tyneside, was heavily involved in the design and construction of vital components of Beagle 2, which went missing on Christmas Day when the probe was expected to land on Mars.
Hopes of finding the probe rest on its mother ship, Mars Express, which should be in the correct orbit around Mars on Wednesday.
John Tomlinson, NPE managing director, said: "In real terms it was probably a 40 per cent chance of it being a success because in space terms it was a relatively cheap project.
"Everybody pinned their hopes on it succeeding, but everyone knew if it was to land in a crater then it would never open, or transmit, or recharge its battery.
"Even if it is open and recharging itself it only has a 20-day lifespan, so if we get to 20 days after Christmas Day it's game over."
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