philae
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This Is What It Sounds Like To Land On A Comet
We have sound! The stream of data from Philae, the Rosetta mission’s little lander currently hibernating on comet 67, now includes the very “thump” it made while touching down. The two-second recording is more scientifically interesting than you might think.
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Philae Bouncing Off The Comet, Caught In Amazing Rosetta Images
Everyone’s favourite underdog lander, Philae, was travelling at about 49cm per second as she zoomed towards the formidable chunk of ice and rock known as 67P. That was slow enough that her mothership Rosetta was actually able to capture the descent in images released today by the ESA.
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Rosetta’s Lander Is Now Asleep On The Comet, Waiting For A Brighter Sun
Goodnight, Philae, though not, we hope, goodbye. The lander is now in sleep mode, keeping “all instruments and most systems on board shut down.” Thankfully, engineers managed to gather all the collected comet data before Philae’s batteries were depleted. If we’re lucky, it may wake up when it gets closer to the Sun.
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Philae’s Bad Landing Turns The Rosetta Mission Into A Race Against Time
It was a historic landing on a comet, but unfortunately, not a smooth one. The ESA confirmed that Rosetta’s lander, Philae, bounced twice and ultimately ended up sideways in the shadow of a cliff, where its solar panels can’t gather enough energy. When Philae’s battery dies, the mission will die with it.