Philae Lander in Hibernation, Contact ‘Unlikely’ to Be Re-Established in Near Future
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European Space Agency(NEW YORK) — The Philae lander, which landed on the comet 67P/Churyumov-Gerasimenko on Wednesday, completed its main mission and is currently in hibernation, the European Space Agency said.
According to the ESA website, Philae bounced twice after its first touchdown, eventually coming to rest in the shadow of a cliff. The restricted access to sunlight for the lander’s solar panels has eliminated the possibility of communication, at least for now.
“We still hope that at a later stage of the mission, perhaps when we are nearer to the Sun, that we might have enough solar illumination to wake up the lander and re-establish communication,” Stephan Ulamec, lander manager at the DLR German Aerospace Agency said.
The ESA had attempted to rotate the lander to expose it to more sunlight, though it’s unclear when a sufficient charge will be built up to re-establish contact.
The first possible communication slot had occurred earlier on Saturday, though the ESA had said that “given the low recharge current coming from the solar panels at this time, it is unlikely that contact will be re-established with the lander in the near future.”
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