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Philae probe failed to attach to the surface of comet 67P / Churiumov-Gerasimenko. Unofficial reports from the European Space Agency indicate that the state of the lander is good, but yesterday’s landing could proceed more dramatically than expected. Philae probably at least once bounced off the surface of the comet’s nucleus and lies a few hundred meters from the first point of contact with the ground.
Shortly after the flight control center arrived yesterday signal confirming the engagement of the lander to the surface informed about the successful firing of two harpoons that had to fix it to the surface. At the same time, at the moment of contact was off to a stabilizing gyroscope orientation of the lander. But then it turned out that harpoons for unknown reasons did not work. The management of the mission foretold that may attempt to run them.
Today’s reports indicate that the lander is on the surface of the comet’s nucleus, the apparatus performs and sends pictures to Earth. Radio is stable. But it is not entirely clear in what eventually landed the position. It may decide to carry out the experiments and the possibility of power the lander with the help of the solar panels. The European Space Agency has announced a press conference on the topic today at 14.
(bks + Grzegorz Jasinski)
This article is excerpted from the category: Science
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