back to article 'A proper British BOFFIN': Famous Martian prof Pillinger dies aged 70

British space scientist Professor Colin Pillinger has died at the age of 70, the BBC reports. Prof Pillinger suffered a brain haemorrhage at his home in Cambridge, UK, and failed to recover from the resulting coma, passing away at the city's Addenbrooke's Hospital. His family described his death as "devastating and …

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  1. tentimes

    Top Bloke

    Colin was a superb human being with an infectious child like curiosity and wonder about space. This is such a sad loss and I wish he had another 20 years to see the fruits of his labour.

    His team's Mars robot was a true quality moment of UK success and in no small part due to Colin and his dreams.

    Great guy,

    1. Charlie Clark Silver badge

      Re: Top Bloke

      All the enthusiasm and fun should not detract from the fact that Beagle 2 was a very poorly managed project and showed just how much the years of underinvestment and disinterest in space by successive governments undermined space research in the UK.

      1. Alan Brown Silver badge

        Re: Top Bloke

        Beagle almost didn't make it onto the mission. As it was, it had a wodge of cash thrown at the last minute, but it was far too late to make much difference.

        The same airbags used for testing (patched, strengthened and overweight) were sent to Mars. This is a very bad thing(*). There simply wasn't enough money to make new ones or enough time when the money finally did appear.

        (*)Anything tested outdoors absorbs water vapour, which is bloody near impossble to remove afterwards, and in the temperatures of space it's not just ice, but may as well be granite.

        The airbags were placed in a large vacuum chamber and pumped down to remove as much water as possible, but they were still outgassing after 6-8 weeks when they had to be integrated into the payload (there was so much water in them they were clogging the pumps for the first 2 weeks)

        It's highly likely that Beagle made it all the way to the surface, but the airbags simply didn't/couldn't inflate properly because they were a frozen mass and the thing went *splat*

        A properly funded mission would probably be a sucess and Beagle is actually cheap/small enough that a funded organisation could send a dozen to Mars at once (That would spread the risk. Perhaps one might die, but not all 12).

        Beagle, like Prospero stands as testimony to the monumental shortsightedness of british govt beaurecracy. As far as they're concerned all this stuff is simply a "flag waving exercise" with low exposure.

        They're more than happy to jump on the bandwagon if someone makes a discovery but getting funding is somewhere between difficult-to-impossble. Of the EU nations who put money into space, the UK spends the least of all - and given ESA investment/contracting rules (contracts are awarded in value proportional to the payments made by each country), it's a self-reinforcing cycle as top up-and-coming british space scientitsts bugger off to other countries where they can be assured they'll keep being able to both put food on the table AND do research.

        One of the newspapers made a big fuss about the British space program/industry employing 30,000 people nationwide (Which is a highly optimistic figure and must include the cleaners as well as all the contractors making parts at workshops across trhe country). To put that into perspective, Australia has more people involved in space and there are more people than that working at NASA JPL alone.

        1. Martin Budden Silver badge

          Re: Top Bloke

          Airbags should never be rock-hard, Bulgarian or otherwise.

    2. Anonymous Coward
      Anonymous Coward

      Re: Top Bloke

      "His team's Mars robot was a true quality moment of UK success..."

      I don't mean to snipe, but Beagle 2 was emphatically not a 'true quality moment of UK success'. Are you being sarcastic?

  2. MJI Silver badge

    RIP

    I had a short email conversation with him back in Beagle 2 time.

    Today is a sad day.

  3. TRT Silver badge

    Very, very sad day.

    A great character, gone too soon.

  4. Anonymous Coward
    Anonymous Coward

    EJ Thribb

    So farewell then

    Colin Pillinger

    Space Wurzel supreme

    you made a small dent in Mars

    But we forgive you that

    1. John G Imrie

      Re: EJ Thribb

      You should send that to the Eye

      1. MrT

        Re: EJ Thribb....

        ... (17½ million miles, give or take)...

  5. Longrod_von_Hugendong
    Go

    Let no man...

    Stop your final journey, for you take it alone.

  6. Matt 116
    Joke

    Lets just hope everyone agreed to use the same units for his coffin.

    Joking apart, its a sad loss to the UK (and wider) to lose someone who was a driving force in this area.

  7. earl grey
    Unhappy

    RIP

    And condolences to friends and family.

  8. Anonymous Coward
    Anonymous Coward

    Sad

    He really was one of those very rare people whose obvious curiosity and enthusiasm for his topic was both infectious and genuinely inspirational. There's something about a scientist with a twinkle in their eye that can light up even the driest of topics, and though Beagle 2 may have failed to bounce on Mars, even in failure it did more to rekindle interest in space research in the UK than a thousand underfunded government initiatives ever could.

    A truly sad piece of news, UK science has lost a real champion.

  9. Anonymous Coward
    Anonymous Coward

    Nice guy

    Interviewed him a number of times, the first time was when the project seemed more a flight of fancy than reality. Later when the worlds media had picked up on it and were clambering for his time he still remembered me and made time for my stupid questions. Nice guy.

  10. TitterYeNot
    Pint

    Inspiration

    People talk about the failure of Beagle 2. Personally, I think I'd probably consider it the greatest achievement of my life if I managed to get half a brick to Mars, let alone a small but perfectly formed spacecraft.

    Let's just hope that the ideas and inspiration he left in his wake mean a high tech future for this country based on the efforts of people who think like he did, rather than one based on the dreams of stock brokers, media consultants and silicon roundabout types.

    Colin Pillinger, the best thing since Blue Streak. I raise my glass.

    1. Anonymous Coward
      Anonymous Coward

      Re: Inspiration

      "Personally, I think I'd probably consider it the greatest achievement of my life if I managed to get half a brick to Mars, let alone a small but perfectly formed spacecraft."

      But all Pilliger ultimately did was get a brick to Mars - and a rather expensive brick at that. As far as I recall he had nothing to do with getting it there, it just hitched a ride on an ESA rocket. I also recall ESA being less than delighted when their efforts were lost in all the hype and over-expectations of Beagle 2 and, though in itself a successful mission, that was mired by the loss of Beagle 2.

      I recall a documentary on Beagle 2 and the team running out of time to test the Mars landing equipment so it seems they threw it up there on a wing and a prayer that it could land safely. I for one was less than surprised when it did not.

      I am sure Pillinger was a decent bloke, and I do not wish to speak ill of the man, but Beagle 2 was a failure and a textbook case of a badly managed project which, as the leading proponent of that project, will forever be an albatross around his neck.

  11. Rick Brasche

    may I suggest to the Vulture SPB

    some sort of homage built into the LOHAN project, in Prof. Pillinger's honor?

    1. Anonymous Coward
      Anonymous Coward

      Re: may I suggest to the Vulture SPB

      Sideburns as a safety parachute/glidey thingamigig. He'd appreciate it :-)

      1. Anomalous Cowturd
        Boffin

        Re: may I suggest to the Vulture SPB

        Sideburns on the Playmonaut?

        Wouldn't add much weight...

        R.I.P. Colin.

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