Lander Philae Has Been Found Hiding In Crevice On Comet 67P
- 8 years ago
An image recently captured by Rosetta’s OSIRIS camera shows the Philae lander is nestled in a crevice on the Comet 67P/Churyumov–Gerasimenko's Abydos region.
In November of 2014, the European Space Agency announced that its Rosetta mission lander, Philae, had successfully made it to the surface of Comet 67P/Churyumov–Gerasimenko.
However, where it ended up has long been a mystery.
That changed in recent days, when an image captured by Rosetta’s OSIRIS camera showed the lander nestled in a crevice on the comet’s Abydos region.
Philae’s position explains quite a bit about why the lander has had a difficult time transmitting information.
Three days after touchdown, Philae’s battery lost its charge, only resuming power for a brief time during the summer of 2015.
Matt Taylor, one of the team members, said, “This wonderful news means that we now have the missing ‘ground-truth’ information needed to put Philae’s three days of science into proper context…”
The discovery comes as the mission prepares for Rosetta’s final descent to the comet’s surface.
In November of 2014, the European Space Agency announced that its Rosetta mission lander, Philae, had successfully made it to the surface of Comet 67P/Churyumov–Gerasimenko.
However, where it ended up has long been a mystery.
That changed in recent days, when an image captured by Rosetta’s OSIRIS camera showed the lander nestled in a crevice on the comet’s Abydos region.
Philae’s position explains quite a bit about why the lander has had a difficult time transmitting information.
Three days after touchdown, Philae’s battery lost its charge, only resuming power for a brief time during the summer of 2015.
Matt Taylor, one of the team members, said, “This wonderful news means that we now have the missing ‘ground-truth’ information needed to put Philae’s three days of science into proper context…”
The discovery comes as the mission prepares for Rosetta’s final descent to the comet’s surface.