One year ago today , millions of people around the world view as the Philae lander became the first space vehicle totouch down on a comet .
There werecelebrationsat the European Space Agency ( ESA ) as the first images were find – watch over by muddiness , as it appeared the investigation had not quite land as planned , and had ricochet twice on Comet 67P Churyumov - Gerasimenko . Its icing harpoons fail to fire and sequester to the solid ground , causing Philae to rally double , before coming to rest under a cliff .
Even now , scientist are still piecing together what happened during the landing place , and we still are n’t even sure exactly where Philae is on the surface . But despite the bumpy landing place , Philae still performed more than 90 percentage of the science that was planned . Now , scientists are hoping to find out from it again as the revolve Rosetta space vehicle swoops lower .
So , what have we learned from Philae , and what more can we get from the intrepid lander ? permit ’s take a looking at .
This awesome time - lapse show Philae ’s journeying to the surface of Comet 67P from Rosetta . ESA / Rosetta / MPS for OSIRIS Team MPS / UPD / LAM / IAA / SSO / INTA / UPM / DASP / IDA
We still do n’t know where it is
Comet 67P is large , but it ’s not that big . It ’s about the sizing of London , if the city was mould into the shape of a rubber duck ( seriously ) . Considering that Philae and the revolve Rosetta spacecraft have spoken to each other , and Rosetta can take high-pitched - resolution paradigm of the control surface , surely we should have found it by now?Not so .
The job is that , although we get laid the oecumenical area Philae is in , a locating 20 by 30 metre ( 65 by 100 groundwork ) , it ’s really surd to break up out ( see figure below ) . Also , as the comet reach its cheeseparing point to the Sun on August 13 , 2015 , Rosetta had to move further out to invalidate debris spewing from its open , stand for it has been out of orbit . It is now dipping below 200 kilometers ( 125 statute mile ) , and will amount as abject as 10 kilometre ( 6 miles ) over the next class , when it will almost definitely be capable to get an image of Philae .
“ One of the challenge has been we have not been able to get cheeseparing , because the comet ’s action has been problematic in terms of visual identification , ” Matt Taylor , Rosetta undertaking scientist , told IFLScience . “ We will get that before the oddment of the mission next twelvemonth , and hopefully a bit more local entropy [ from Philae ] . ”
Philae is somewhere in this oval . ESA
But it was a skillful affair it bounced
Philae ’s original landing place geographical zone , in a immense plain known asAgilkia , would have been interesting . But , display to the shaft of light of the Sun , the probe would have burn up out by March of this year .
However , by bouncing twice on the surface and becoming wedged under a cliff , it was shelter enough to live the comet ’s near access to the Sun . This has provided the scientist with a fascinating opportunity to get even more data from the comet than in the beginning planned , if Philae wakes up again .
“ It was a very welcome incentive to the lander , ” Rosetta Science Operations Manager Laurence O’Rourke tell IFLScience . “ Especially because , one twelvemonth afterwards , we trust Philae is still alive . This would not have pass if it had stayed in the location it touched down first . ”
The bounce also permit the investigation to get data from unlike locations on the surface , including using its gaussmeter in more than one place . More on that later .
Shown is the first bouncing , as learn by Rosetta . ESA / Rosetta / MPS for OSIRIS Team MPS / UPD / LAM / IAA / SSO / INTA / UPM / DASP / IDA
Eight of its ten instruments worked
In its 60 to 70 time of day of initial operation , Philae was able to utilize 80 % of itsinstruments . This include the Comet Nucleus sound experimentation by Radiowave Transmission ( CONSERT ) , which worked with the Rosetta spacecraft to value the comet ’s interior .
The only instruments not to work completely were the Alpha Proton X - ray Spectrometer ( APXS ) , which would have studied the chemic composition of the airfoil , and a camera on the Comet Nucleus Infrared and Visible Analyzer ( CIVA ) , a suite of six camera intended to take a panorama of the aerofoil .
Otherwise , the skill take back from Philae was pretty impressive , andearlier this yearthe first papers of research from the lander were published .
Philae used its camers to take this , the first image from the aerofoil of a comet . ESA
It discovered the comet has no magnetic airfield
As bring up earlier , the bounce of Philae provided a hike for the science of the missionary post . In fact , it enable scientist work on the mission to make anunexpected discovery .
“ As with any global watching , you could make measurements from afar , but the best thing is to get and have-to doe with it , ” explained Taylor . “ And for Philae , I think we had a wonderful result . Our first resultant role combing datum from Philae and Rosetta together was measuring the magnetic champaign , and this was only possible because of the bounce . There were multiple points of mensuration , giving us a much better global smell for the local magnetic subject area . It indicated there was no remnant magnetic field in the comet . ”
So there you go .
Rosetta ( illustrated ) and Philae have worked together on discoveries . ESA
It might occur back to life again
Philae go into hibernation three day after down when its main batteries ran out of big businessman . But it has a secondary battery , powered by its solar panels , that has intermittently work it back to life story . Although the comet is go away from its close point , there could still be enough sunshine for Philae to wake up . Now that Rosetta is being lowered , it could be able to get a line from Philae again .
“ There ’s a chance of Philae add up back to biography for a third time in the coming calendar month , ” say Taylor . “ It could add up back this hebdomad , in fact , which would be a overnice festivity , but I think the end of November is more likely , when we hope to be even close . ”
But the investigation will be gone for estimable by January . This will be because the region it is in wo n’t have enough sunlight to keep it animated . So we ’ve only got a few more month to make middleman .
Rosetta , meanwhile , will remain in compass until tardily in 2016 , when it will bepurposefully impactedwith the surface .
Scientists at ESA broke into solemnisation when the probe landed a year ago . ESA
Philae is n’t done yet
If the lander wakes up , it will be instructed to start a serial of additional scientific discipline experiment devised by the team on the ground . But it will also be told to take more images of its surroundings .
“ There will be more pictures of the airfoil , around the lander , pic underneath , and we ’ll also run other instruments like the X - shaft of light experiment , ” sound out O’Rourke . “ This is the plan , but it ’s very much a case of when we can speak to the lander . We need good and steady communication . ”
Comet 67P has now passed its closest point to the Sun . ESA / Rosetta / NAVCAM
But there ’s no company planned
Both O’Rourke and Taylor said that there was n’t any special celebration plan for the one twelvemonth anniversary today , so unless they ’re throw a surprise company they did n’t want us to destroy , it appears that for most of the scientist at ESA it ’s business concern as usual .
“ It ’s just a day like any other day , just a yr ago we did this matter that a lot of people are interested in , ” Taylor sound out .
“ I think , for me in person , it ’s a day to celebrate the fact the lander is still alive , and to desire to hear from it , ” added O’Rourke . “ I ’m more interested in fete when we pick up from it again . It was a immense achievement for human race in principle to shoot down on the surface , but we are continuing to try on and get in touch with the lander , and the mission is n’t over . ”
Oh well . We ’ll celebrate for you . felicitous natal day , Philae !
