He said air traffic control contacted the pilot after noticing an unusual manoeuvre minutes after take-off and the pilot said his plane had hit a vulture.

BBC: Nepal plane crash: UK dead remembered

The intervening weeks will be spent in a manoeuvre called aerobraking, which involves using the air-resistance of the thin Martian atmosphere to change the elliptical initial orbit into a circular one from which the planet's surface can be examined in detail.

ECONOMIST: Mars Odyssey

Arsenal and England legend Seaman, was spinning Pam O'Connor while rehearsing a manoeuvre before ITV1's Dancing On Ice show went on air.

BBC: Seaman has appeared alongside Kelly Holmes on the ITV show