Found the little robot “missing” on the comet – National Geographic Italy

A little ‘bruised, but otherwise in decent condition (as he has spent 12 years in space and nearly two out of a comet) the lander

was finally found. The European Space Agency scientists (ESA) they had lost track of the

when the little robot – about the size as a dishwasher – was dropped by the probe

to land on the comet 67P / Churyumov-Gerasimenko.

the spacecraft was lifted off from Earth in 2004, following a long and circuitous route before reaching, ten years later, his comet. But the landing of Philae had not gone as expected. Harpoons did not work, and instead to anchor itself to the surface of the first lander bounced off; for two hours had flown over the comet before bouncing back and finally fall. Mission scientists tried to figure out where it was from the photographs that Philae was still returning for some time: it seemed to be landed at the base of an outcrop of rock that gave shade. Which it was problematic, because without light its batteries solar energy could not function.

In fact, a few days later, the batteries were discharged and Philae ceased to give signs of life. Scientists were hoping that he would wake up when the comet had approached more to the Sun, but the lander let out only a few faint pulse in the summer of 2015. Then nothing, so much so that in February this year was declared officially dead (or, as announces the ESA website, in “eternal hibernation”).

But the search for the little robot has never stopped; indeed, it has become all the more hectic as we approach the end of the mission. On 30 September, in fact, Rosetta will crash definitely against his comet. The ESA team has explored all the images sent by the orbiter, and used radio waves to identify the possible crash site. The observations suggested that Philae was in a region called Abydos, the smaller lobe of the comet (the “head” of the “rubber ducky” that the star has been compared). An area of ​​a few tens of square meters, but full of crevices and cavities where the lander could be finished. For months, though, Rosetta has sent only low-resolution images, too blurry to be decisive. Until, on September 2 last year, has risen just 2.7 kilometers from the comet’s surface, and has started to shoot.

And it is one of Cecilia Tubiana, a member of the mission team, locate, looking closely images sent by the probe, a distinctive form: Philae had lost a leg and was stuck in a crevice on the surface of the comet. “I immediately recognized, there was no doubt,” said the scientist, who works at the Max Planck Institute for Solar System Research. “I could not believe that we had finally identified, less than a month after the end of the mission! I was so happy.”

Now the search is over. The lander is still unusable, but know where it landed enable scientists to better interpret the data that was still managed to send during those few days of November 2014. In a few weeks, then, the comet will begin to bring Philae and his “mom” Rosetta away from the Sun, to a long, dark night.