14 DAY TRIAL // Just hours ago, Comet 67P/Churyumov–Gerasimenko welcomed a visitor that spent about 10 years traveling through space just to meet it. The visitor, dubbed Philae, is a lander that the European Space Agency sent into space on March 2, 2004.
The lander was carried all the way to Comet 67P/Churyumov–Gerasimenko by Rosetta. Earlier today, the lander and the spacecraft parted ways, and Philae embarked on its solo journey to the surface of the comet.
In a statement, the European Space Agency says that the signal confirming the touchdown reached our planet at 16:03 GMT (17:03 CET). This means that the lander made it on the surface of its target comet some 30 minutes earlier.
Philae’s landing site, named Agilkia, is located on the head of the lobe-shaped comet. The European Space Agency settled on this site as the perfect home for the lander some 6 weeks ago, after analyzing images and data provided by the Rosetta spacecraft.
The scientists behind this mission say that, having reached the comet’s surface, the lander used screws in its feet and two harpoons to attach itself to its body. The lander is now busy taking photos of the comet.
Over the next two and a half days, Philae will also collect samples and try to make heads or Tails of the comet’s anatomy and makeup. Should it manage to make use of its rechargeable secondary battery, it could remain operational until March, 2015.
Commenting on the success of this mission, Jacques Dordain, the European Space Agency’s director general, said, “ESA and its Rosetta mission partners achieved something extraordinary today.”
Furthermore, “Our ambitious Rosetta mission has secured another place in the history books: not only is it the first to rendezvous with and orbit a comet, but it is now also the first to deliver a probe to a comet’s surface.”
The first photos snapped by the lander should reach Earth in just a few hours, so stay tuned for updates.
