Philae’s extraordinary comet landing relived
On 12 November 2014, after a ten year journey through the Solar System and over 500 million kilometres from home, Rosetta’s lander Philae made space exploration history by touching down on a comet for the first time. On the occasion of the tenth anniversary of this extraordinary feat, we celebrate Philae’s impressive achievements at Comet 67P/Churyumov-Gerasimenko.
Rosetta’s lander Philae is safely on the surface of Comet 67P/Churyumov-Gerasimenko, as these first two CIVA images confirm. One of the lander’s three feet can be seen in the foreground. The image is a two-image mosaic. The full panoramic from CIVA will be delivered in this afternoon’s press briefing at 13:00 GMT/14:00 CET. CREDIT: ESA/Rosetta/Philae/CIVA
Decisions, decisions
Rosetta arrived at the comet on 6 August 2014, and the race was immediately on to find a suitable landing site for its lander Philae.
The site needed to offer a balance of safety and unique science potential. Rosetta’s images of candidate landing sites were scrutinised and debated, and within a few weeks the final choice was made: a smooth-looking patch, later named Agilkia, located on the smaller of the comet’s two lobes.
Intense preparations followed, but the night before landing, a problem was identified: Philae’s active descent system, which would provide a downward thrust to prevent rebound at touchdown, could not be activated. Philae would have to rely on harpoons and ice screws in its three feet to fix it to the surface.
Nonetheless, the green light was given and after separating from Rosetta, Philae began its seven-hour descent to the surface of the comet. During the descent, Philae began ‘sensing’ the environment around the comet, taking stunning imagery as the first landing site came into view.
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