News / Brèves
Space / Espace
Back to previous selection / Retour à la sélection précédente

OSIRIS spots Philae drifting across the comet

Printable version / Version imprimable

The OSIRIS camera aboard the Rosetta orbiter has captured a remarkable series of images of the Philae lander over a 30-minute period, as it drifted down to the surface of comet 67P/Churyumov-Gerasimenko. One photo is after touchdown, and one, when it had bounced back up from the surface.

See: http://blogs.esa.int/rosetta/2014/11/17/osiris-spots-philae-drifting-across-the-comet/

"Exercised about faulty harpoons? You try landing on a comet!" advises Jet Propulsion Laboratory Director Dr. Charles Elachi. "I feel as proud about an accomplishment done anywhere," he told National Review Online, describing NASA’s challenging Mars-landing projects, and the difficulty of what Europe achieved in the Philae comet landing.

Marsha Freeman