Comet probe Philae sends back science treasure in final hours
17 Nov 2014 4:30 AM IST
Crowning a historic feat, the robot lab streamed data from its experiments back to its mother ship Rosetta in the final hours before its battery ran down. This included the outcome of an eagerly-waited chemistry test of a sample drilled from the comet’s icy and dusty surface, scientists said.
‘Rosetta’s lander has completed its primary science mission,’ the European Space Agency (ESA) said.
Lacking power, its instruments and most systems went into standby mode after three days of non-stop work, sending back data that will keep scientists busy for years.
‘The data collected by Philae and Rosetta is set to make this mission a game-changer in cometary science,’ said Matt Taylor, Rosetta project scientist. Philae had landed in a dark shadow after a bouncy triple touchdown on Wednesday. It did not get enough sunlight to recharge its batteries sufficiently to extend its mission beyond its initial 60-hour work programme.
Mission engineers do not rule out making contact with the lander in the coming months as Comet 67P/Churyumov-Gerasimenko moves closer to the Sun.
Conceived more than 20 years ago, the Rosetta mission aims at shedding light on the origins of the Solar System 4.6 billion years ago, and maybe even life on Earth.
A theory gaining ground in astrophysics is that the fledgling Earth was pounded by these bodies of cosmic ice and carbon-rich dust, seeding our planet with the basics to start life.
‘Rosetta’s lander has completed its primary science mission,’ the European Space Agency (ESA) said.
Lacking power, its instruments and most systems went into standby mode after three days of non-stop work, sending back data that will keep scientists busy for years.
‘The data collected by Philae and Rosetta is set to make this mission a game-changer in cometary science,’ said Matt Taylor, Rosetta project scientist. Philae had landed in a dark shadow after a bouncy triple touchdown on Wednesday. It did not get enough sunlight to recharge its batteries sufficiently to extend its mission beyond its initial 60-hour work programme.
Mission engineers do not rule out making contact with the lander in the coming months as Comet 67P/Churyumov-Gerasimenko moves closer to the Sun.
Conceived more than 20 years ago, the Rosetta mission aims at shedding light on the origins of the Solar System 4.6 billion years ago, and maybe even life on Earth.
A theory gaining ground in astrophysics is that the fledgling Earth was pounded by these bodies of cosmic ice and carbon-rich dust, seeding our planet with the basics to start life.
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