Colin Pilinger Dies Aged 70
British planetary scientist Colin Pillinger, best known for his 2003 attempt to land a spacecraft on Mars, has died aged 70, his family have said.
Prof Pillinger was at his home in Cambridge when he suffered a brain haemorrhage and fell into a deep coma.
His family said he later died at Addenbrooke’s Hospital without regaining consciousness.
His death was “devastating and unbelievable”, they said in a statement.
‘Unfinished business’
The space scientist built a probe to search for Martian life, naming it Beagle 2 after Charles Darwin’s HMS Beagle.
It was the first time an individual researcher had sent their own vessel into space.
The spacecraft vanished without trace but Prof Pillinger carried on pushing space agencies to complete what he called “unfinished business on Mars”.
He was a professor in interplanetary science at the Open University, where he headed the Department of Physical Sciences until 2005.
He was awarded a CBE in 2003.
Prof Pillinger was married to Judith with whom he had two children, Shusanah and Nicolas.
He also had MS, which is why I am covering his sad death here.
Same Difference 