Philae returns its first data from the surface of a comet

BBC : Despite its bumpy landing on comet 67P/Churyumov–Gerasimenko, the European Space Agency’s Philae lander was still able to perform its primary scientific missions. One of its instruments sampled and analyzed the comet’s atmosphere and detected the presence of organic molecules. The team monitoring that instrument has not revealed any details about what compounds were found or in what concentrations. A second instrument suggests that the comet is covered by a layer of dust 10- to 20-cm thick with frozen water underneath. Because of the extreme conditions at which it froze, the ice appears to have a tensile strength similar to that of sandstone. A drill that was supposed to obtain a soil sample and deliver it to an analyzer appears to have failed to do so. Also, an x-ray spectrometer designed to image the comet’s surface appears to have failed to take clear pictures, probably due to the fact that the lander ended up lying on its side.