Comet Landing Update: Scientists Search for Philae's Location as Lander Transmits Images

On Tuesday, Nov. 12, Philae touched down on the comet 67P/Churymov-Gerasimenko, earning its place in history. Now, the lander is sending back images via the spacecraft, Rosetta, showing scientists new views of this comet.

"Philae is on the surface and doing a marvelous job, working very well and we can say we have a very happy lander," said Paolo Ferri, ESA's Head of Mission Operations at ESOC, in a news release.

After touching down yesterday, Philae sent back a clear strong signal, with some breaks. Later, telemetry stabilized and communication with the surface with the comet was maintained until the link to the orbiter was lost due to Rosetta's orbit.

And yet the landing itself wasn't as soft as researchers had planned. The first analysis of the touchdown data shows that the lander bounced twice before settling on the surface of the comet. This is probably due to the fact that its thruster wasn't functioning properly during the time of the landing. This also meant that the harpoons to secure the probe to the surface didn't occur; without the thruster to stabilize the spacecraft, the harpoons would have caused Philae to shoot back upward.

Currently, the lander remains unanchored to the surface, but its instruments are running and are delivering both images and data. In addition, the lander received some power from its solar panels, but it appears as if some parts of the lander were in shadow during the time that last night's surface telemetry were being transmitted.

Teams are now working to confirm the location and overall power and thermal situation on board. So far, it seems as if the lander is performing well.