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APOD
Astronomy Picture of the Day
Discover the cosmos! Each day a different image or photograph of our fascinating universe is featured, along with a brief explanation written by a professional astronomer.
Philae Lander Found on Comet 67P
Explanation: A little spacecraft that was presumed lost has now been found. In 2014, the Philae lander slowly descended from its parent Rosetta spacecraft to the nucleus of Comet C67/P Churyumov-Gerasimenko . At the surface, after a harpoon malfunction, the lander bounced softly twice and eventually sent back images from an unknown location . Earlier this month, though, Rosetta swooped low enough to spot its cub . The meter-sized Philae is seen on the far right of the main image , with inset images showing both a zoom out and a zoom in. At the end of this month, Rosetta itself will be directed to land on 67P , but Rosetta's landing will be harder and, although taking unique images and data, will bring the mission to an end .
Free Download: APOD 2017 Calendar: NASA Images
| Date | September 12, 2016 |
|---|---|
| Credit | Image Credit & Copyright: ESA , Rosetta , MPS , OSIRIS; UPD/LAM/IAA/SSO/INTA/UPM/DASP/IDA/Navcam |
| Authors & editors: | Robert Nemiroff (MTU) & Jerry Bonnell (UMCP) |
| A service of: |
ASD at NASA / GSFC, NASA Science Activation & Michigan Tech. U. |