Mars Express, the spacecraft which took the probe to the red planet, flew over the landing site to try to contact it, but could not get in touch.

Colin Pillinger, the lead scientist on the project, said the team would "play to the final whistle".

But he also added that the time was approaching when the team should give up and "start looking to the future."

Mars Express sent out a radio signal to the probe in the hope that it would respond.

No-one has heard from Beagle 2 since December 25, when it was set to land on the red planet.

Stunning images

Meanwhile, a probe successfully sent to the planet by a US-led team is continuing to beam stunning images back to Earth.