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| A dark outlook for the Philae lander! | Nov 14, 2014 8:27 AM PST | url |
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Added 1 new A* page:Continuing on from yesterday's article about the ESA's Philae lander successfully making mankind's first landing on a comet—the comet 67P/Churyumov-Gerasimenko—comes more information giving the mission team a better understanding of the lander's situation after the tethers that were supposed to secure it to the comet failed to deploy during landing. It appears to have gotten itself into a pretty tight spot!
Rosetta: Battery will limit life of Philae comet lander (BBC) - The lander bounced twice off the hard cometary surface (they hadn't been sure if it would be hard or soft), the first bounce taking it 100m away from its intended, relatively smooth landing spot; it came to rest on just two of its three legs in the shadow of a small cliff, possibly the rim of a crater. Unfortunately, the cliff is blocking most of the sunlight the probe was supposed to be receiving and using for power once its main battery runs out: "It means Philae is unlikely to be operating in its present state beyond Saturday."
Comet lander: Future of Philae probe 'uncertain' (BBC) - The team has deployed the lander's drill in an attempt to get a sample from the surface of the comet before the power runs out; there's also a very slim hope that the drill will be able to push it away from the shadow of the cliff and into more sunlight to extend its battery life—but at this point every communication with the lander could be its last.
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