Utah People's Post

The Latest News from the Beehive State

Friday, July 1, 2022
Log in
  • National News
    • Female Caseworker Killed & Doctor Shot in Philadelphia
  • State News
    • Car Chase Leads to Drug Arrest
  • Tech & Science
  • Health
    • How to Prepare For Ticks Season
    • Magical Weight Loss Bean Scam
  • Sports
  • Business
You are here: Home / Tech & Science / Philae Lander Remains Lost, Scientists Hope for Wake-up

Philae Lander Remains Lost, Scientists Hope for Wake-up

February 2, 2015 Posted by Editor

Philae Lander Remains LostAfter Philae’s one-of-a-kind landing on comet 67P/CG, the European Space Agency lost contact with its star lander. While the Philae lander remains lost, scientists still hope that May could herald good news as the comet nears the sun, possibly causing the lander to wake up.

Although its exact position hasn’t been established yet, European Space Agency experts do know that Philae is suffering from a lack of sunlight which would feed its solar panels with the energy required to make contact. They have roughly estimated the area where Philae must have landed, however, visual confirmation of the lander’s position is yet to come.

Despite the current situation, scientists are certain that the lander will be able to make contact with Rosetta once again. Stephan Ulamec, German Space Agency lander manager, explains that even if Philae manages to get in contact with Rosetta, it would most likely be for very short periods of time. Because of Philae’s location in what he calls a “dark pocket”, scientists must now plan for modest science sequences, Ulamec added.

Originally, landing engineers had predicted that Philae would land in a spot which would allow the lander to receive heaps of solar energy. Had Philae landed in the planned spot, operations could have run smoothly until March, when the temperature would have risen so much that the lander would have not been able to survive. So the fact that Philae didn’t quite make its planned landing spot may, in fact, be a blessing in disquise.

The fact that its current resting location is a great deal darker than engineers had foreseen, it’s surely going to be significantly cooler. Consequently, Philae can commence conducting its scientific missions once it wakes up. Additionally, it will have protection from the sun’s heat even as 67P/CG continues to approach its closest rendezvous spot with the sun.

What’s more, ESA experts are convinced that, as the frozen molecules are released from the now-dormant lander, Philae is sure to send back interesting readings.

Attempting to triangulate the exact position where Philae landed, the European Space Agency managed to spot “several Philaes”, Ulamec explains, and that’s precisely the problem. Because of the rough terrain on comet 67P/CG:

“It’s very difficult to distinguish Philae from surface features that resemble a little bit the shape of the lander.”

In the meantime, Rosetta has carried on its scheduled scientific tasks and has begun to distance itself from the comet where Philae now lies. As a result, future photographs are less likely to reveal the lander’s location.

When Philae finally receives enough sunlight to make contact with Rosetta, it will immediately fall back to sleep (as it is programmed to send signals as soon as it has enough energy to send them). When this happens, all we have to hope for is that the comet’s intensely cold surface did not ruin the lander’s scientific testing instruments.

Image Source: Red Orbit

Share this:

  • Tweet
  • Share on Tumblr
  • Email

Filed Under: Tech & Science

Woman working out at the gym

Just 23% of Americans Are Working Out Enough in Their Spare Time

June 29, 2018 By Amelia Donovan

Poliovirus Therapy Gives Brain Cancer Patients New Hope (Study)

June 29, 2018 By Amelia Donovan

United Airlines airplane

Passenger Mysteriously Dies on United Airlines flight Bound for Boston

June 28, 2018 By Amelia Donovan

Breakfast sandwich

Here Are Some Foods No Nutritionist Would Ever Eat

June 27, 2018 By Amelia Donovan

Poppy flower

UN Warns of Surge in Opium-based Drugs and Cocaine Supply

June 27, 2018 By Amelia Donovan

U.S.-Canada border

French Jogger Detained 2 Weeks for Accidentally Crossing Border

June 26, 2018 By Amelia Donovan

Plus size model

Normalizing Plus Size Could Fuel Obesity Crisis (Study)

June 25, 2018 By Amelia Donovan

Giant manta ray

Unique Manta Ray Nursery Spotted off Texas Coast

June 23, 2018 By Amelia Donovan

The rainbow flag

WHO Scraps Transgenderism from List of Mental Illnesses

June 22, 2018 By Amelia Donovan

456 People Dead at U.K. Hospital after Taking too Many Painkillers

June 21, 2018 By Amelia Donovan

Kenyan girls dancing

Kenyans Facing Poor Nutrition as Supermarket Shopping Is on the Rise

June 20, 2018 By Amelia Donovan

Pages

  • About
  • Contact
  • Privacy Policy GDPR
  • Staff
  • Terms and Conditions

Recent Posts

  • Just 23% of Americans Are Working Out Enough in Their Spare Time
  • Poliovirus Therapy Gives Brain Cancer Patients New Hope (Study)
  • Passenger Mysteriously Dies on United Airlines flight Bound for Boston
  • Here Are Some Foods No Nutritionist Would Ever Eat
  • UN Warns of Surge in Opium-based Drugs and Cocaine Supply
  • French Jogger Detained 2 Weeks for Accidentally Crossing Border
  • Normalizing Plus Size Could Fuel Obesity Crisis (Study)

Related Articles

  • Crosses on a wall

    Religious People Live Longer, Are Less Stressed than Atheists, Study

    Jun 15, 2018
  • Antineutrino Detector

    Scientists Discover an Even More Elusive Particle than Neutrinos

    Jun 5, 2018
  • Funny Albert Einstein

    Time Travel Is Already Here

    May 30, 2018
  • Planet 2003UB313

    Scientists Found Evidence that Elusive Planet 9 May Be Real

    May 18, 2018
  • Kuiper Belt Object

    This Asteroid in Kuiper Belt Is Nothing Scientists Have Seen Before

    May 11, 2018
  • Elephant raising its trunk

    Elephants Communicate with Their Feet, Scientists Confirm

    May 9, 2018
  • Starbucks store

    Black Men Settle for $1 Each after Racist Arrest at Starbucks

    May 3, 2018
  • Tech addiction

    Facebook Pioneers Forming Coalition to Lobby Against Tech Addiction

    Feb 5, 2018
  • Kaspersky Co-founder Natalia Kasperskaya

    Kaspersky Boss: Bitcoin Was Created by U.S. Govt to Fund CIA’s Black Ops

    Feb 1, 2018
  • Amazon Go shopper

    Amazon Gets Rid of Cashiers at Its Check-Out Free Store

    Jan 30, 2018

Categories

  • Business
  • Entertainment
  • Health
  • National News
  • Nature
  • Provo
  • Salt Lake News
  • Science
  • Sports
  • State News
  • Tech & Science
  • Technology
  • Uncategorized
  • West Jordan
  • West Valley City
  • World

Copyright © 2022 utahpeoplespost.com

About · Privacy Policy · Terms of Use · Site Map · Contact