Philae Lander Wakes Up

In November 2014, the Rosetta spacecraft’s Philae Lander landed on the nucleus of comet 67P/Churyumov-Gerasimenko. The lander’s automated harpoon system failed to work, causing Philae to bounce twice before coming safely to rest. Unfortunately, the solar-powered lander ended up in the shadow of a cliff. This “selfie” is the only image taken of the lander after touchdown. Within its two-and-a-half day primary mission, Philae completed its science data collection and transmitted the data to Earth. Then it entered hibernation due to power loss. After seven months, Philae awoke and transmitted 300 more data packets. Mission scientists eagerly await their next contact with the lander, since more than 8,000 data packets remain to be transmitted. Rosetta is an international mission led by the European Space Agency.