By 
November 14th, 2014
This image was taken by the Philae comet lander looking down using its descent ROLIS imager when it was about 130 feet (40 meters) above the surface of Comet 67P/Churyumov-Gerasimenko.
It shows that the surface of the comet is covered by dust and debris ranging from mm to metre sizes.
The large block in the top right corner is 5 meters in size. In the same corner the structure of the Philae landing gear is visible.
The aim of the ROLIS experiment is to study the texture and microstructure of the comet’s surface. ROLIS (ROsetta Lander Imaging System) has been developed by the DLR Institute of Planetary Research, Berlin.
Credit: ESA/Rosetta/Philae/ROLIS/DLR
The European Rosetta mission deposited the Philae lander onto comet Comet 67P/Churyumov–Gerasimenko on November 12, Central European Time.
European space scientists confirmed that the probe bounced three times prior to coming to a stand-still attitude.
Harpoons on the lander did not fire and Philae appeared to be rotating after the first touchdown, which indicated that it had lifted from the surface again.
The first touchdown was inside the predicted landing ellipse. But then the lander lifted from the surface again – for 1 hour 50 minutes.
During that time, it travelled about 1 km, then made a smaller second hop, followed by a landing in its final resting place seven minutes later.
While the lander remains unanchored to the surface — at an as yet undetermined orientation — the science instruments are running and are delivering images and data, helping the team to learn more about the final landing site.
The descent camera revealed that the surface is covered by dust and debris ranging from millimeter to meter sizes.
Meanwhile, Philae’s CIVA camera returned a panoramic image that on first impressions suggests the lander is close to a rocky wall, and appears to have one of its three feet in open space.
ESA Hangout highlights success of Europe’s Philae lander.
Credit: ESA
Philae’s primary battery may run out very shortly. A secondary battery, charged by solar panels on Philae, is only capable of soaking up 1.5 hours of sunlight available to the lander each day. That being the case, there is an impact on the energy budget to conduct science for a longer period of time.
“It has been an overwhelming experience,” said Matt Taylor, Rosetta project scientist. But there’s more to come, “so stay tuned,” he said during a Goggle Hangout session today from ESA’s Space Operations Centre in Darmstadt, Germany.
Listen to a replay of the session on YouTube by going to:
Posted in Space News
