Rosetta engineers are hard at work, scouring the 67p/G-C comet for any signs of the lander that is tucked neatly behind a cliff: they think that Philae will report again in August. Two weeks ago, Philae made a historic landing on a comet 320 million miles away from Earth. Now, the comet-bouncing lander is asleep after depleting its batteries. Because its anchoring harpoons did not deploy, … [Read more...]
ESA in for 7 Hours of Terror During Risky Comet Landing
The European Space Agency (ESA) will be attempting one of its most difficult missions to date as it will try to land a probe on the surface of a comet whizzing through space. If successful, the mission will be the first of its kind. The robotic Philae probe will be landing on Comet 67P/Churyumov-Gerasimenko’s surface on Wednesday, the 12th of November. 69P/C-G is approximately 2.5 miles wide … [Read more...]