Dear readers and followers,
Today the lander Philae did the touch down on the comet !!! After a 10 year journey of some seven billion kilometers, the Rosetta mission is now the new step : landing and exploration of the comet land !
This morning, Philae separated from Rosetta. Seven hours later, it arrived today at 17:04 CET at the surface of the comet. Hopefully, Philae survived the landing, and will begin to return data from the comet.
Touchdown was planned to take place at a speed of around 1 m/s, with the three-legged landing gear absorbing the impact to prevent rebound, and an ice screw in each foot driving into the surface.
But during the final health checks of the lander before separation, a problem was detected with the small thruster on top that was designed to counteract the recoil of the harpoons to push the lander down onto the surface. The conditions of landing, including whether or not the thruster performed, along with the exact location of Philae on the comet are being analysed.
The first pictures taken by the Philae have been released. The first one shows the comet few hours before to land. The second one has been taken on the land of the comet. The third one has been taken approximately 10 km before landing
ESA/Rosetta/Philae/DLR
ESA/Rosetta/Philae
ESA/Rosetta/Philae/CIVA
Source: +European Space Agency, ESA
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