1/7/2015

Twomonthslater,scientistsstillcan'tlocatethePhilaelanderVox

Two months later, scientists

still can't locate the
Philae lander
Updated by Joseph Stromberg on January 6, 2015, 11:10 a.m. ET

@josephstromberg

joseph@vox.com

http://www.vox.com/2015/1/6/7500857/philaemissing

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A rendering of Philae's touchdown.

(DLR German Aerospace Center)

In November, after the Philae probe's historic landing on a comet (

http://www.vox.com/2014/11/12/7203081/philae-comet-rosetta), it bounced
and likely landed in a shadowy crater quickly draining its battery due to a lack of sunlight.
As of yesterday, European Space Agency scientists still don't know exactly where it is,

according to the BBC ( http://www.bbc.com/news/science-environmenthttp://www.vox.com/2015/1/6/7500857/philaemissing

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30683860).
Over the last two months, scientists have used
the Rosetta orbiter which originally carried
Philae to the comet 67P/G-C and is still
orbiting the body to take high-resolution
photographs of the comet, manually poring
over them for signs of the lander. But even

SCIENTISTS HOPE
PHILAE WILL WAKE
UP IN LATE SPRING

though they have a rough idea of where Philae

should be, they've been unable to nd it.
Now, they're hoping that as the comet nears the sun in late spring, more sunlight will reach
Philae's solar panels, allowing it to wake up and resume sending signals back to Rosetta.

How Philae got lost

http://www.vox.com/2015/1/6/7500857/philaemissing

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A composite shows Philae's view of the comet, from a dark crater. (ESA)

When Philae landed on the comet the rst-ever controlled landing of a spacecraft on one
there were some technical diculties. The most major one was that the probe's
harpoons, which were designed to fasten it to the comet's surface, failed to re.
As a result, Philae bounced several times (

http://www.vox.com/2014/11/17/7235087/philae-photos-comet). Due to the

http://www.vox.com/2015/1/6/7500857/philaemissing

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extremely low level of gravity, its rst bounce took about two hours, and carried it as high
as a kilometer above the surface. After another smaller bounce, it nally settled in a
shadowy crater.

http://www.vox.com/2015/1/6/7500857/philaemissing

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A composite image shows Philae's location right after its initial touchdown. (ESA/Rosetta/MPS for Osiris Team)

As a result, its solar panels were only able to collect about 90 minutes of sunlight every 12
hours, which meant the craft had to rely largely on its battery. Though ESA scientists used
mechanical instruments on the craft to turn it slightly in hopes of getting more sunlight, the
eort failed, and Philae powered down (

http://www.vox.com/2014/11/15/7225427/philae-comet-rosetta) after 57 hours

on the comet.
During this short interval, Philae sent back photos and data, making the mission as a whole
a success. Among other things, that data has told us that the water present on the comet is

dierent from that on earth (

http://www.vox.com/2014/12/10/7371949/rosetta-comet), making it seem less
likely that comets like 67P/G-C delivered water to earth billions of years ago.
But even though scientists were able to calculate the region of the 2.5-mile wide comet
where Philae likely landed, photos taken by Rosetta have failed to reveal exactly where it is.

http://www.vox.com/2015/1/6/7500857/philaemissing

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http://www.vox.com/2015/1/6/7500857/philaemissing

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A simulation of the comet's surface shows where scientists believe Philae is located. (ESA/Rosetta/Philae/CNES/FD/CIVA (

http://www.nasa.gov/jpl/rosetta/pia19097/#.VKwDH2TF9dI))

What's next for Philae

Rosetta has now ascended to a slightly higher orbit, and ESA scientists are no longer trying
to use it to locate Philae. Instead, they're hoping that increased sunlight the result of the
comet's orbit bringing it closer to the sun will provide enough solar power for the lander
to wake up.

http://www.vox.com/2015/1/6/7500857/philaemissing

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The comet's current position, and its orbit through December. (Livecometdata.com (

http://www.livecometdata.com/comets/67p-churyumov-gerasimenko/))

Yesterday, they said that this could happen sometime in May or June. By September, Philae
could have enough power to begin using its scientic instruments once again, and continue
collecting data.
The bad news, however, is that when the comet reaches its closest point to the sun in
August excessive heat could make Philae inoperable (

http://www.esa.int/Our_Activities/Space_Science/Rosetta/Frequently_asked_questions)
So even if the lander is indeed able to wake back up, there might be a fairly narrow window
for it to conduct more science before shutting down for good.

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In this
StoryStream

Philae's historic comet landing

11:10A

Two months later, scientists still can't locate the Philae lander
DEC 10

The Rosetta probes first finding suggests asteroids, not comets,

brought water to Earth

http://www.vox.com/2015/1/6/7500857/philaemissing

13 updates

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Twomonthslater,scientistsstillcan'tlocatethePhilaelanderVox

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