November 11, 2014
As part of the European Space Agency's Rosetta mission, the Philae lander successfully landed on comet 67P/Churyumov-Gerasimenko marking the first time a spacecraft landed on a comet.
Darmstadt, Germany | European Space Agency
On November 12, 2014, the European Space Agency’s (ESA) Rosetta mission achieved a historic milestone as the Philae lander successfully landed on the surface of comet 67P/Churyumov-Gerasimenko. This marked the first time in history that a spacecraft executed a controlled touchdown on a comet’s nucleus.
The Rosetta mission, launched by ESA in March 2004, embarked on a decade-long journey across the Solar System. Its primary goal was to conduct a detailed study of comet 67P/Churyumov-Gerasimenko, offering unprecedented insights into the composition and behavior of comets, which are considered primordial building blocks of the Solar System.
After a travel distance of approximately 6.4 billion kilometers (around 4 billion miles), Rosetta arrived in the vicinity of the comet in August 2014. The spacecraft entered orbit around the comet, enabling in-depth analysis and the selection of a suitable landing site for Philae.
On November 12, after being released from Rosetta, the Philae lander descended towards the comet over a period of roughly seven hours. The landing process was remotely monitored from ESA’s control centers, highlighting the complexity and risk involved in landing on a low-gravity, uneven surface.
During the landing, Philae’s anchoring harpoons failed to deploy, causing it to rebound twice from the comet’s surface before settling in its final resting place. Despite these challenges, Philae successfully collected valuable data during its initial active phase of approximately 57 hours.
The lander used its suite of instruments to conduct various experiments, including drilling into the surface, analyzing the comet’s composition, and sending back images. This data has contributed significantly to the understanding of comets and the early Solar System.
Though Philae’s exact final position in the shadow of a cliff limited its ability to recharge its solar-powered batteries, the mission provided crucial data for the remainder of the Rosetta mission, which continued to study the comet from orbit until the spacecraft itself landed on the comet in September 2016.
The Philae lander’s journey and achievements have inspired further scientific inquiry into comets and opened the door for more advanced missions in the future. Its successful landing remains a milestone in space exploration history, exemplifying human ingenuity and the quest for knowledge beyond Earth.
Source: www.esa.int