Tag: Philae

Missing comet lander Philae spotted at last: ESA

by Pascale MOLLARD Mariëtte Le Roux PARIS, France (AFP) — Europe’s Rosetta spacecraft has finally spotted its tiny lander Philae, thought to be lost forever, stuck in a ditch on the surface of a comet hurtling through space, ground controllers said Monday. “THE SEARCH IS OVER! I’ve found @Philae2014!!” the European Space Agency (ESA) tweeted on behalf of Rosetta, orbiting comet 67P/Churyumov-Gerasimenko at some 682 million kilometers (424 million miles) from Earth. The agency released […]

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Comet lander shuts down after sending data

BY IRENE KLOTZ (Reuters) – A pioneering robotic spacecraft shut down on Saturday after radioing results of its first and probably last batch of scientific experiments from the surface of a comet, scientists said. Batteries aboard the European Space Agency’s Philae comet lander drained, shutting down the washing machine-sized probe after an adventurous and largely unscripted 57-hour mission. Carried aboard the orbiting Rosetta mothership, Philae floated to the surface of comet 67P/Churyumov-Gerasimenko on Thursday, but […]

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ESA’s Philae probe releases first image from landing

(Reuters) — The Philae probe on Wednesday (November 12) released a close-up image of Comet 67P/Churyumov-Gerasimenko as the European Space Agency (ESA) said on-board instruments are working despite the anchors not working as planned. The picture, taken with the lander’s ROLIS camera, was taken 3km away from the target during the craft’s descent. Philae’s landing marks a first in space exploration and the climax of a decade-long mission to examine up close the remnants of the birth […]

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