Europe's Mars Express orbiter fails to make contact with Beagle 2 probe, which has been out touch since it was supposed to land on Mars in December, the European Space Agency said on Wednesday. 

Despite a short distance of some 300 km between the possible landing site and the mothership Mars Express, no signal was received from the Beagle 2, ESA experts said in Darmstadt, Germany.

Wednesday's attempt to reach Beagle was considered the last -- and best -- hope of locating the missing lander.

If further attempts to communicate fail, the mission will be classed as lost.

Working in tandem, the probe and the orbiter are designed to search for signs of life, whether past or present, on the Red Planet.

The probe is equipped with a robotic arm to sample surface rock and soil.

The orbiter Mars Express was placed in orbit around Mars at around the same time as the probe was to have touched down. It will be in a position to receive any signals from Beagle 2, if the probe is in fact alive and well, after completing a series of final orbital maneuvers.

Getting a working spacecraft to Mars has been very difficult. Of 34 unmanned American, Soviet and Russian missions to Mars since the 1960s, two-thirds have ended in failure.

(Xinhua News Agency January 8, 2004)