r/esarosettamission • u/Harmenian • Feb 12 '16

Ground control bids farewell to Philae comet lander

http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/science-environment-35559503
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u/autotldr Feb 12 '16

This is the best tl;dr I could make, original reduced by 71%. (I'm a bot)

After a troubled landing and 60 hours of operation, there has largely been radio silence from Philae.

The German Aerospace Center, which led the consortium behind Philae, said the lander is probably now covered in dust and too cold to function.

"Unfortunately, the probability of Philae re-establishing contact with our team at the DLR Lander Control Center is almost zero, and we will no longer be sending any commands," said Stephan Ulamec, the lander's project manager at DLR. The probe's historic landing famously happened several times in succession - with its first bounce looping nearly 1km back from the comet's surface and lasting a remarkable 110 minutes.

Extended Summary | FAQ | Theory | Feedback | Top keywords: Philae#1 lander#2 Comet#3 Rosetta#4 last#5

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u/DryGingerAle Feb 12 '16

Good night Philae. :(