On December 19th, when Beagle 2 fires its spin up and eject mechanism to send it spinning on its way to Mars, we hope to bring you pictures of the tiny probe receding into the distance. Black and white and grainy maybe, but a historical moment captured in time and space.

Once separated from Mars Express, Beagle 2 becomes a spacecraft in its own right for the last 5 days of the journey. On December 20th, the mothercraft, on which Beagle 2 hitched a ride, will make a course correction to avoid a collision with Mars, thus preparing for Mars Orbit Insertion at around the same time as the lander touches down on the surface of the planet.

The spin-up and eject sequence is crucial for both the lander and orbiter. Failure to eject Beagle 2 would mean that the Mars Express would be saddled with extra mass and be unable to enter the desired science orbit, and clearly there would be no landing.

Onto Christmas Day - although the time of the landing is known, we will not be able to receive information until NASA's Odyssey orbits over the site providing a communications session. And even then, it is not certain that a signal can be received at the first attempt. Come what may there will be a press conference early on Christmas morning. The next chance to receive a message from Beagle 2 will be late on Christmas night when the giant Jodrell Bank telescope will listen out to see if Beagle 2 has switched on its transmitter.

Rest assured as soon as we know Beagle 2 is safe we will be telling everyone. So check in with early morning and late night news bulletins on Christmas day. The www.beagle2.com website will be updated as quickly as possible.