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| Colin Pillinger dies after brain haemorrhage | Colin Pillinger dies after brain haemorrhage |
| (35 minutes later) | |
| 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. | 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 family said he later died at Addenbrooke's Hospital without regaining consciousness. |
| His death was "devastating and unbelievable", they said in a statement. | 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. |