THE 180 staff at Science Systems of Chippenham have a double reason to celebrate.

A full-scale replica of the Beagle 2 Mars Lander has touched down at their offices and the firm a specialist supplier of bespoke IT services has won one of the initial study contracts for the European Space Agency's prestigious Aurora programme.

The arrival of the replica allowed the Chippenham team dedicated to the project to see the Lander first hand.

Science Systems' software is at the heart of the Lander's technology and will control the vehicle on the surface of Mars using instructions relayed from mission control on Earth.

The Mars Express mission carrying the Lander explorer is due to land on the planet in December 2003.

The Beagle 2 will roam the surface carrying out experiments and burrowing. It offers a chance for UK scientists to win the race for proof that there was once life on the Red Planet

No fewer than six rival missions are heading for Mars in the next few years in a bid to solve the riddle.

Professor Colin Pillinger of the Open University, who devised the concept of the Lander, said the UK's was the first mission due to arrive and had the best instruments for seeking out evidence of life.

The Beagle 2 is so-called in honour of Charles Darwin's historic voyages on his ship the original Beagle.

The fact that Science Systems also won one of the initial study contracts for the European Space Agency's prestigious Aurora programme puts it at the front of space study programmes.

Aurora will set out European space exploration strategy for the next 30 years, which could include missions to the planets and asteroids using robots.

The Aurora team will be investigating a whole range of new ideas for space exploration

Science Systems is one of the big success stories in the region.

The company, which has 820 staff globally, about 180 in Chippenham, has bucked the economic downturn in the hi-tech sector.

Last September it reported revenue up 55 per cent to £33m.