ESA/NASA probe lands on comet

[Prime Time]

http://www.dailymail.co.uk/sciencet...upper-today-s-historic-landing-comet-67P.html

European scientists make space history by successfully landing probe on a comet after 10-year mission - but reveal Philae BOUNCED on the surface as harpoons supposed to tether it did not fire

• Philae made incredible landing on comet 67P today at 3.30pm GMT making it first craft in history to land on a comet
• Probe separated from the Rosetta spacecraft seven hours earlier after 10 year mission to comet
• 'It's a big step for human civilisation,' said Esa director general as control room erupted with applause
• First image by Philae showed Rosetta 50 seconds after separation as it headed towards planet
• Scientists were worried thruster problem would scupper the landing as it was not working
• Harpoons also failed to fire, leaving lander attached to come by ice screws in its leg
• Team has not released images from the surface yet

By JONATHAN O'CALLAGHAN and ELLIE ZOLFAGHARIFARD and MARK PRIGG FOR MAILONLINE

Scientists have landed a probe on a comet's surface for the first (and second) time in history.

After a daring seven-hour descent, and despite problems with its thrusters, the Rosetta craft's probe, Philae, touched down on 67P/Churyumov-Gerasimenko.

However, controllers have revealed that because harpoons supposed to tether it to the surface had not fired, the lander may have actually bounced, effectively landing twice - and leaving it attached only by screws on its legs.

The final approach: This image shows comet 67P/CG from a distance of approximately 3 km from the surface

Rosetta's probe, Philae, has successfully landed on its comet 67P/Churyumov-Gerasimenko. Pictured is the mission control team in Darmstadt, Germany celebrating immediately after the announcement

'It's complicated to land on a comet, and complicated to understand what has happened during this landing,' said Dr Stefan Ulamec, Philae Lander Manager.

'The good news is we touched down, we had a clear signal and recieved data.

'The not so good news is that the anchoring harpoons did not fire. We looked into the data, and we don't fully understand what has happened.

We had fluctuations in the radio link, but it always came back again.

'Some of the details indicate the lander may have lifted off again, it is bouncing.

'Two hours later, this stopped. We may have landed not once, but twice.'

In an emotional speech, Esa director general Jean-Jacques Dordain said: 'It's a big step for human civilisation.'

Scientists hope data from the probe will help reveal how the solar system was first created 4.5 billion years ago.

The confirmation of the landing was relayed via Rosetta to Earth and picked up simultaneously by a ground station in Malargüe, Argentina and Madrid, Spain, before being confirmed in Darmstadt.

 

[CGI_Ram]

I'm pretty sure they faked all of this from a studio in Hollywood.

 

[Selassie I]

This really is an incredible feat.

I think the ESA deserves more credit for this than NASA though.

 

[RhodyRams]

There will be a program covering this on Science Channel tonight (Weds) at 9 EST during
Space week

 

[CodeMonkey]

Amazing.

 

[bluecoconuts]

This really is an incredible feat.

I think the ESA deserves more credit for this than NASA though.

They do. It was all them, not NASA. NASA provided three instruments to measure different things. If I recall correctly it was a sensor to measure ions, temperature, and an electromagnetic sensor (UV and microwaves) to see how the comet changes as it heads towards the sun. They also provided a bunch of electronics and such, but most of the leg work and hard stuff was done by the ESA. The next few years between NASA and the ESA we should learn some exciting things about the outer planets though. Next year NASA will get the first real good pictures of Pluto, and the ESA is looking to focus on exploring some of the more interesting moons of Jupiter and Saturn. NASA is also heavily involved in the SLS to make manned missions to Mars and Orion for manned missions to asteroids possible.

 

[Selassie I]

They do. It was all them, not NASA. NASA provided three instruments to measure different things. If I recall correctly it was a sensor to measure ions, temperature, and an electromagnetic sensor (UV and microwaves) to see how the comet changes as it heads towards the sun. They also provided a bunch of electronics and such, but most of the leg work and hard stuff was done by the ESA. The next few years between NASA and the ESA we should learn some exciting things about the outer planets though. Next year NASA will get the first real good pictures of Pluto, and the ESA is looking to focus on exploring some of the more interesting moons of Jupiter and Saturn. NASA is also heavily involved in the SLS to make manned missions to Mars and Orion for manned missions to asteroids possible.

I see we have a shared interest.

Living near Cape Canaveral for much of my adult life has sparked much of it for me. Everything from seeing many launches with my own eyes and having a few friends who worked there. I can never get enough. There's probably not an article about space that I haven't read through.

 

[bluecoconuts]

I see we have a shared interest.

Living near Cape Canaveral for much of my adult life has sparked much of it for me. Everything from seeing many launches with my own eyes and having a few friends who worked there. I can never get enough. There's probably not an article about space that I haven't read through.

Its always been an interest of mine, however it peaked a few years back and I decided to study it in school. My area focuses on search for life on other planets, especially as we expect to find proof of life elsewhere within our lifetime, I'm hoping I can be part of that.

 

[Force16X]

last story i read reports that Philae isnt or didnt get enough sunlight to recharge its batteries due to being in a shadowy area of the comet and will cease operations. what a shame. lots of information lost if that's the case. http://www.bbc.com/news/science-environment-30058176

 

[bluecoconuts]

It wont be ceasing operations, they'll just have short windows to send information back, and sometimes it may not get enough of a charge to send information back each day. They got a lot of information though, and they'll get more as well. It's to be expected, all part of the process. We always have really small windows to gather and send information. Look at the Horizons mission, started in 2001, launched in 2006, and it will fly by Pluto (it's primary mission, which will get us our first real pictures of the surface) in July of 2015 and have less than an hour to gather all its information. It'll take over a year to send all the information back, and there's such a long delay between sending/receiving information to the probe (about 4 and a half hours each way), we can't make on the spot corrections, and just need to hope the math is good. They did a makeshift test run with Jupiter in 2007 that worked out great, but it's still a lot of unknowns, and could go wrong very easily. Years of work for tiny windows of opportunity.

 

[Ramhusker]

What is it with Germans and rockets? They sure are good at it.