Philae Found!

[muriel_volestrangler]

Less than a month before the end of the mission, Rosetta’s high-resolution camera has revealed the Philae lander wedged into a dark crack on Comet 67P/Churyumov–Gerasimenko.

The images were taken on 2 September by the OSIRIS narrow-angle camera as the orbiter came within 2.7 km of the surface and clearly show the main body of the lander, along with two of its three legs.

The images also provide proof of Philae’s orientation, making it clear why establishing communications was so difficult following its landing on 12 November 2014.

“With only a month left of the Rosetta mission, we are so happy to have finally imaged Philae, and to see it in such amazing detail,” says Cecilia Tubiana of the OSIRIS camera team, the first person to see the images when they were downlinked from Rosetta yesterday.

http://www.esa.int/Our_Activities/Space_Science/Rosetta/Philae_found

[hunter]

1. This is amazing!

Comets, or at least this comet, are very rough places.

[William Seger]

5. Not quite what was expected

"Artist's concept"

[annabanana]

2. wow

that is amazing

[Spitfire of ATJ]

3. Geologists love the nooks and crannies.

[SCantiGOP]

4. Just bad luck on the landing

Looks like a couple of feet to the side would have been fine.

[William Seger]

6. Looks like it would have taken a lot of luck to stick the landing (nt)

[Judi Lynn]

7. Wonderful hearing they found it. That took some kind of skill, didn't it? No longer lost. n/t