ESA must wait for comet probe Philae to wake up
DOI: 10.1063/PT.5.028606
BBC : Launched more than 10 years ago, the European Space Agency’s Rosetta spacecraft reached comet 67P/Churyumov–Gerasimenko last August. On 12 November, Rosetta‘s robotic lander Philae touched down on the comet’s surface after having bounced twice. Thanks to its primary battery, it was able to transmit about 60 hours’ worth of data before it exhausted its power supply. However, Philae‘s exact location has not yet been determined, and it has not received enough sunlight to recharge its secondary battery. ESA controllers hope that as the comet moves closer to the Sun over the next few months, Philae will be able to reboot itself and resume its communications with Rosetta.
