The retentive search for the Philae lander on Comet 67P / Churyumov - Gerasimenko is over . The lander has been found .
Theastonishing announcementcomes just a few weeks before the orbiting Rosetta mission is scheduled to come to an goal . scientist had been using mellow - declaration images from Rosetta to taste and locate Philae ever since itsbumpy landingin November 2014 , but have only now tracked it down in the delegacy ’s " final time of day " .
The image were taken recently on September 2 by Rosetta ’s OSIRIS camera ( Optical , Spectroscopic , and Infrared Remote Imaging System ) from a distance of 2.7 kilometers ( 1.7 international mile ) . They show Philae on its side wedged under a drop and in fantasm , as expected , which had made endeavour to communicate with it so difficult , and result in ESAdeclaring the lander “ dead”in July this year .
" With only a calendar month left of the Rosetta mission , we are so happy to have in the end imaged Philae , and to see it in such amazing detail , " said Cecilia Tubiana of Rosetta ’s OSIRIS camera team , who was the first individual to see the images , in astatement .
This is the first time Philae has been photographed on the surface since its infamous landing , when it bounced double before come to rest in this location . Rosetta deal to snap an paradigm of its first set about landing place , but the lander had not been see from again . It did , however , manage to post back itsown viewof the surface , in increase to completing more than80 percentof its intend science .
These images confirm the lander is in a location call Abydos , which is on the small lobe of the comet . scientist had devised an domain a fewtens of meters acrossthat they thought the lander was likely to be in , but had been unable to image it directly until now .
The find is all the more noteworthy given that the Rosetta mission is due to end on September 30 , when it will be sent to contact down on the comet and cease communicating with Earth . “ We were beginning to believe that Philae would stay lost forever , ” Patrick Martin , ESA ’s Rosetta Mission Manager , added in the command . “ It is unbelievable we have catch this at the final hr . "
It ’s a fitting end to what has been a wonderful mission for the past two years . We still wo n’t see from Philae as the lander has since track down out of world power , but perhaps now we can give it the meet send - off it merit .
Image in text : This labeled image shows the unlike parts of the lander . ESA / Rosetta / MPS for OSIRIS Team
