Philae Phones Home from Comet after 2 Weeks of Silence with Rosetta

First Posted: Jul 10, 2015 12:40 PM EDT
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The Philae lander has officially gotten back in touch with Rosetta-and Earth-after nearly two weeks of silence.  Philae was able to send over data about the comet it's currently stationed on and even remained stable for 12 minutes.

Over the last few days, Philae has not communicated with the science team on Earth. After an initial test to turn on the Comet Nucleus Sounds Experiment by Radiowave Transmission (CONSERT) instrument on July 5, Philae did not respond. This caused the team to wonder whether the lander had actually survived on the comet.

"We never gave up on Philae and remained optimistic," said Koen Geurts, a member of the lander control team, in a news release.

Philae has to communicate with ground stations through Rosetta, which acts as a radio relay. Restrictions on the orbiter's approach to and orbit around the comet have not permitted regular communication with the lander.

Now, Philae's internal temperature of zero degrees Celsius gives the team hope that the lander can charge its batteries, which would make scientific work possible regardless of the "time of day" on the comet.

"We can already see that the CONSERT instrument was successfully activated by the command we sent on 9 July," said Geurts. "We do not yet have an explanation for why the lander has communicated now, but not over the past few days."

While there was a lack of communication, it appears that Philae has survived the harsh conditions of the comet. Currently, the scientists are looking forward to making future discoveries with the lander.

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