There is hope on second life for comet lander Philae – Wedding

03.11.15, 04:48 – Source: Reuters

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Europe tomorrow will try to get its historic comet lander from hibernation. Scout Philae is on a comet that is coming ever closer to the sun. That means that the comet could be again revived. If that succeeds, Philae can again do research on the surface.

Tomorrow sends mission control in Germany a first signal to generate Philae. Or directly manage all the demand, “but it’s worth a try,” the German Space Agency DLR declared yesterday. The conditions have to be just right. Philae can only start again when it is warm enough and if the solar panels generate enough power. Only then can the explorer to pass the mission control how it goes with him. The status of the probe is thus still a mystery.

Landing not go as planned
The Philae landed in November on the 67P / Churyumov-Gerasimenko. Such a thing had not been done before. However, the landing did not go as planned. Philae stumbled a few times and came to a different place right than intended. Probably he is now in the shadow of a cliff. After a few days the battery was empty and the probe fell asleep. Now the comet, and thus also the lander, closer to the sun. There is more light on the solar panels and the temperature rises.

The comet 67P around for billions of years in orbit around the sun. It is a remnant of the formation of our solar system 4.6 billion years ago. The earth has changed considerably over the years, the comet hardly. The research scientists to learn more about the history of our solar system. Philae was to include drilling a hole in the surface to discover the comet which exists but has not yet succeeded. He must also make sharp pictures of its surroundings.

The European project will cost more than 1.3 billion euros. The mission is led by the Dutchman Fred Jansen. The landing system and the solar panels are made of Philae in the Netherlands.