Chippenham computer experts working on the Beagle mission to Mars have not lost hope they may yet hear from the planet lander.

CodaSciSys, based at Methuen Park in Chippenham, played a key role in the British space mission, creating the software for the Mars Express and the lander.

Hopes were dashed on Christmas Day when no signal was received from the dustbin-sized craft to confirm it had reached the red planet safely, but it is possible contact might yet be made.

"It's been a bit of a roller coaster," said Chris Lee, business manager for the Mars project.

"I was there with Colin Pillinger at the London Media Centre. It was an interesting way to spend Christmas morning.

"We were feeling pretty excited. At 6am we were waiting for the first signal through the US satellite, surrounded by press and cameras.

"We waited ten agonising minutes while Colin was on the phone, then he lifted his head and said there was no signal. We were all very disappointed."

They waited for another opportunity to receive a signal but this proved fruitless too.

However, despondency was short-lived and the team of computer experts immediately set to work trying to

calculate what might have gone wrong and how it could be put right.

If the parachute or air bags have failed nothing can be done but if the lander is caught against a Martian rock and the antennae are pointing the wrong way it is possible adjustments could be made.

"Now everyone is thinking, let's get the job done," said Mr Lee.

The team is waiting for the mother ship Mars Express to come into orbit around Mars on January 4.

The Mars Express will be the best receiver for a message from the lander, so scientists will be keenly awaiting news of any communication on January 6.

The Mars Express itself will also provide much useful information about the red planet from its position in orbit.

Whether a message is received from the Beagle or not, Mr Lee was confident the exploration of Mars will continue.

The European Space Agency is planning the Aurora programme, with an ambition to put a man on Mars by 2030.

Mr Lee said the next step would be to send robots to Mars, hopefully by 2009, and already CodaSciSys has been awarded three contracts for the project.

"The Beagle has been a sufficiently galvanising project, we are ready to take the next step forward," he said.

A Mars Rover would need intelligent software to help it travel on the surface without guidance, providing a challenge to the software designers.

Martin Townend of CodaSciSys, the Beagle 2 Ground System Manager, was at mission control on Christmas morning waiting for the first transmission from Beagle.

"There are many possible explanations for the Beagle 2 signal not having reached us yet," he said.

"A delay in establishing communication with Beagle 2 was something we had anticipated as a possibility.

"There are many chances for the lander to communicate with us as Mars Odyssey and Mars Express pass over Beagle a few times a day.

"For now we can only wait, but the team is confident that we will be in contact with Beagle 2 and our programme of experiments will begin as planned."

CodaSciSys developed the on-board software to control the Beagle 2 lander on the Martian surface, including the first signal back to Earth, which should have been the rock band Blur's interplanetary composition.

The lander was heading for the Isidis Planitia, a large lowland basin north of the Martian equator.

After landing it should open up to expose solar panels and instruments to gather samples including a rock drill and grinder, and an on-board laboratory to spot any signs of life in the samples.

Beagle 2 is also supposed to check the atmosphere.

The lander will carry out its experiments automatically while out of contact with the ground, even though the temperature on Mars at night can drop to minus 100C.