Comet landing pictures - The robot probe, Philae, has successfully landed on the comet named 67/ Churyumov-Gerasimenko at around 1605 GMT. First in history, the probe made its landing after a decade long journey. This is reportedly a big step in the human civilization.
The 6.4 billion-kilometre journey made by the European probe, Philae finally ended at 11:05 am Eastern time. The only problem that arose from the mission was the 28 minute delay in communication between the Philae robot probe and the Rosetta team. After making its landing on the comet, this marks ten years of hard work by the Rosetta mission. Comet landing pictures are yet to be released.
The said comet landing pictures are currently being analysed but some have already made its way back home. Scientists hope to find out details from the comet landing pictures that would somehow explain the origins of Earth. Philae is set to closely study the molecular and physical composition of the comet.
The comet landing pictures are a huge step for human civilization according to the director-general of the European Space Agency, Jean-Jacques Dordain. If everything goes according to plan, the comet landing pictures will not only reveal the chemical composition of the comet but give more insight to the origin of the Solar System.
"It's a look at the basic building blocks of our solar system, the ancient materials from which life emerged," shares one of Rosetta's project lead researchers, Kathrin Altwegg in a report by Washington Post.
While everyone at Rosetta are patiently waiting for the comet landing pictures to be analysed, the Philae probe has been busy sending out tweets about its' current situation. Philae had tweeted about its new address being comet 67P and about the failure of its harpoons to fire effectively. At 220 pounds, Philae certainly is one smart probe that will somehow lead the way to secrets of the Solar System finally being unlocked.
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