Spotted on Mars

I didn’t plan to write a sequel to the previous post about Beagle 2. But recently, while visiting the Fitzwilliam Museum in Cambridge, we came across a small, but very interesting exhibit. It was all about Damien Hirst’s Beagle 2 spot painting. In fact, it wasn’t really an artwork as such, but a calibration target for various instruments on the lander. Based on his iconic spot paintings, the artist produced the work himself (with a bit of technical assistance from Colin Pillinger and his team).

Following our trip to the Science Museum, my Son is now a fully-fledged Beagle 2 enthusiast. He studied in detail all the various information panels and was captivated by the film loop that shows Colin Pillinger and Damien Hirst working together on the piece. The flight spare is on display in a glass case, the original lies intact on the surface of Mars. It must be the most remote abstract painting in our Solar System. If it is ever brought back to Earth it will be worth a small fortune. Now there’s a challenge!