The Philae lander hit the two-and-a-half-mile-wide comet at a walking pace, a bit more than 2 mph. A cold gas thruster was programmed to fire at touchdown to help push the lander down while two harpoons shot into the soil to anchor the spacecraft in place.
After Rosetta's ten year journey — capped off with the smooth 7 hour descent of its Philae lander — an explosion of elation went up in the European Space Agency's mission control center in Darmstadt, Germany. At around
Now that it has been confirmed as stable, the Philae lander will travel with the comet as it continues its journey around the Sun. It should witness the plumes of vapourised gases emitted from the icy surface as the comet feels the rising heat of its
The robotic lander that touched down on a comet on Wednesday came to rest on its side in the shadow of a cliff, according to the first data beamed home from the probe. Pictures from cameras on board the European Space Agency's Philae lander show the
However, after some check-out time for the landing at the ESA flight control center, a spokesman said all had not gone as planned with the comet lander known as Philae (pronounced “fee-lay”). Preliminary indications suggest