European scientists hope for data after historic comet landing

European scientists are hoping for a stream of data Thursday after a robot lab made the first-ever landing on a comet, a key step in a marathon mission to probe the mysteries of space. Operation chiefs in Darmstadt, Germany, on Wednesday say the lander Philae failed to anchor to comet 67P/Churyumov-Gerasimenko on landing, but still managed to send back scientific information. The 100-kilogramme explorer may have plopped down in a soft, sand-like material or may be lightly touching the surface, they speculated. More will be known on Thursday when Philae makes scheduled contact with its mothership Rosetta, landing manager Stephan Ulamec said.

Hopefully, we are sitting there on the surface at a position different to the original landing and can continue our science.

Stephan Ulamec, Philae lander manager

Equipped with 10 instruments, Philae was designed to carry out the first-ever scientific experiments on a comet, providing the jewel in a crown of a massively complicated project more than two decades in the making. Getting from Earth to a comet that is traveling towards the Sun at 18 kilometres per second was a landmark in space engineering and celestial mathematics. The $1.6-billion Rosetta mission was approved in 1993. Rosetta, carrying Philae, has covered more than 6.5 billion kilometres together since 2004, before Wednesday’s separation prior to landing.

Science Rosetta