Comet to be Penetrated Violently

Tuckerfan · Nov 15, 2014

AIUI, the full panel array isn't exposed, so the juice they'll be getting from the sun won't be enough to do anything with, other than preventing the lander from being completely dead. Its possible that as it gets closer, and parts of the comet burn off, it might see an increase in sunlight, before too much of the comet start gassing that it could come back to life long enough to do science.

Right now, though, its dead. They were supposed to hear from it a couple of hours ago, and there was no signal. It'll be weeks before we'll have a chance to hear from it again, if the lander's getting enough sunlight to trickle charge the batteries.

We Are Borg · Nov 15, 2014

The mission was a success, in that they actually landed a fucking probe on a fucking comet that's over thirty fucking million miles away.

Go science!

Tuckerfan · Nov 15, 2014

We Are Borg said: ↑

The mission was a success, in that they actually landed a fucking probe on a fucking comet that's over thirty fucking million miles away.

Go science!
Click to expand...

It will certainly make it easier for us to do it again, no matter if the lander revives or not. I'm real interested to see what kind of info they've gathered about the composition. If there's a hydrogen rich mixture of gases on the comet, then the next lander will probably be equipped to use that in addition to solar panels, effectively mining a comet!

One of my friends on Facebook was bitching about Rosetta, and mockingly saying that it was going to provide America with all kinds of jobs. A few other people had agreed with him, so I simply pointed out that the US had nothing to do with the mission. Surprisingly, nobody responded to his post after that.

Lanzman · Nov 15, 2014

We Are Borg said: ↑

The mission was a success, in that they actually landed a fucking probe on a fucking comet that's over thirty fucking million miles away.

Go science!
Click to expand...

Um . . . three hundred million miles away.

Tuckerfan · Nov 16, 2014

The interwebs come through again!

Some 20 years ago, the NASA space agency began detecting radio bursts from an unknown origin out in space. It would later be known that these bursts had likely come from the direction of the now named comet67P. Once the technology progressed, it was confirmed that not only were these signals coming directly from the comet itself but that the comet had seemed to change trajectory at will, which to any scientist is an obvious impossibility for any rock confined to the physics of space.

It was at this time that the NASA space agency decided to plan out a mission to send a military backed reconnaissance mission to the object in hopes of discovering its true nature. Because of its nature and secrecy, the American space agency made a deal with European government insiders to publicly tout the mission as a search to simply get a close up of one of the millions of comets flying through space. It was the perfect cover and allowed the governments to go about the mission off the ground without the need to hide its launch.
Click to expand...

Aurora · Nov 17, 2014

Well, it's sleeping, not dead. Give it sunlight and it will come back.

The good news is: ten experiments were conducted by the probe and the data was sent back. They are saying it's enough data to take years to analyze. Also, loads of supposedly awesome photos incoming.

Here's the photo of the year: http://www.esa.int/spaceinimages/Images/2014/11/OSIRIS_spots_Philae_drifting_across_the_comet

mburtonk · Nov 18, 2014

Organics! http://online.wsj.com/articles/rose...scovers-organic-molecules-on-comet-1416256078

Rosetta Probe Discovers Organic Molecules on Comet

GAUTAM NAIK
Updated Nov. 17, 2014 6:03 p.m. ET
107 COMMENTS
The probe that landed on the surface of a comet has discovered organic molecules, the most rudimentary building blocks of life, according to the German agency involved in the mission.

An instrument aboard the Philae lander detected the molecules after “sniffing” the comet’s atmosphere. An organic compound is one whose molecules contain the carbon atom, the basis of life on earth.

Scientists are analyzing the data to see whether the organic compounds detected by Philae are simple ones—such as methane and methanol—or a more complex species such as amino acids, the building blocks for proteins. A drill on Philae also obtained some material from the comet’s hard surface, but data about organic molecules from that experiment have yet to be fully analyzed.

Related Video

The Rosetta robotic space probe has landed on a comet. WSJ's Gautam Naik explains how a feat like this is achieved. Photo: ESA
Comets contain some of the most pristine materials in the solar system, dating to about 4.5 billion years ago. Previous studies have suggested that comets forge organic material in their dusty atmospheres.

A study of the comet’s organic materials “will help us to understand whether organic molecules were brought by comets to the early earth,” which could have kick-started life here, said Stephan Ulamec, the Philae lander manager and scientist at the German Aerospace Center. The agency runs the lander control center and oversaw the comet landing on Nov. 12.

Researchers had expected to find organic molecules on the comet, known as 67P/Churyumov-Gerasimenko. But thanks to the probe, they are for the first time able to conduct a direct search for organic molecules in both the comet’s gases and its surface material.

The data sent back by Philae, part of a European Space Agency mission. now will be checked against similar information already obtained by the orbiting Rosetta. In early August, when Rosetta was within 200 kilometers of the comet, one of its sensors was able to study the coma, or envelope of gases surrounding the comet’s nucleus.

Those early measurements detected water, carbon monoxide and carbon dioxide, which were likely to have been released from below the comet’s surface layer. It also found traces of ammonia, methane and methanol. In October, Rosetta scientists studying the coma said they had picked up traces of the organic compound formaldehyde as well as other molecules, including sulfur dioxide and hydrogen sulfide, which smells like rotten eggs.

An even bigger find would be the discovery of an amino acid on comet 67P. In 2009, a U.S. spacecraft discovered the amino acid glycine on a comet. A similar find on 67P would bolster a view that life on earth was seeded by comets that brought organic compounds with them.

Although Philae’s primary battery ran out of power on Friday night, scientists completed a maneuver that has positioned one of the probe’s larger solar panels more fully toward sunlight. It means that the probe may yet come to life next summer or a bit earlier, as the comet heads closer to the sun.

“We are very confident that in coming months we’ll get more sun and power and Philae can be reactivated,” Dr. Ulamec said.

Write to Gautam Naik at gautam.naik@wsj.com
Click to expand...

Lanzman · Nov 18, 2014

Major news. But IIRC, we already knew there were organics on comets.

Tuckerfan · May 12, 2015

evenflow said: ↑

Is there any chance it could get enough light to restart at some point? Is it on its way round the sun or towards the outer solar system?
Click to expand...

ESA has started listening for the lander to wake up.

Dan Leach · Jun 14, 2015

Philae wakes:
http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/science-environment-33126885

Bickendan · Jun 14, 2015

steve2^4 · Jun 14, 2015

Aurora · Jun 14, 2015

Yay! Welcome back!

The space agencies are sure having fun on Twitter. Curiousity congratulated Philae. Whoever said 'hey, let's have the probes tweet!' in some boring NASA meeting should really get some social media award.

Tuckerfan · Jun 23, 2015

Rosetta mission extended. http://www.mirror.co.uk/news/techno...-comet-landing-space-mission-extended-5936707

Tuckerfan · Jul 10, 2015

Lander begins talking again, for the first time in two weeks. http://in.mobile.reuters.com/article/idINKCN0PK1TL20150710?irpc=932

Log in or Sign up

Comet to be Penetrated Violently

Tuckerfan BMF

We Are Borg Republican Democrat

Tuckerfan BMF

Lanzman Vast, Cool and Unsympathetic Formerly Important

Tuckerfan BMF

Aurora Vincerò!

mburtonk mburtonkulous

Lanzman Vast, Cool and Unsympathetic Formerly Important

Tuckerfan BMF

Dan Leach Climbing Staff Member Moderator

Bickendan Custom Title Administrator Faceless Mook Writer

steve2^4 Aged Meat

Aurora Vincerò!

Tuckerfan BMF

Tuckerfan BMF

Log in or Sign up

Comet to be Penetrated Violently

Tuckerfan BMF

We Are Borg Republican Democrat

Tuckerfan BMF

Lanzman Vast, Cool and Unsympathetic Formerly Important

Tuckerfan BMF

Aurora Vincerò!

mburtonk mburtonkulous

Lanzman Vast, Cool and Unsympathetic Formerly Important

Tuckerfan BMF

Dan Leach Climbing Staff Member Moderator

Bickendan Custom Title Administrator Faceless Mook Writer

steve2^4 Aged Meat

Aurora Vincerò!

Tuckerfan BMF

Tuckerfan BMF

Useful Searches