Video and Images: Rosetta Mission Philae Lander Media Briefing 13 November 2014
Watch today’s Rosetta media briefing, held at ESA’s Space Operations Centre, Darmstadt, Germany, at 8:00 a.m. EST (1300 GMT). The replay runs about 45 minutes and includes updates from the Rosetta mission operations team, the Philae lander manager and scientists, as well as presentation of initial images and data from the surface of Comet 67P/Churyumov-Gerasimenko.
Editor’s note: We learned among this morning that the Philae lander bounced not once, but twice. Philae bounced 38 cm/s for about a kilometer. Then did a second smaller jump at 3 cm/s for 7 min. Philae landed in the original landing site (below in red) within 100m of expected, but then bounced and landed in the blue diamond area. Because of its orientation and shady location, the solar panels are only getting about 1.5 hours of charge time compared to 6-7 hours of solar power expected. This is affecting operations and the science mission although science data is coming in. Mission controllers are working on a plan that may include moving the lander again.
Original landing site in red. Somewhere in the blue is where Philae is.
Searching for Philae
This five-image montage of OSIRIS narrow-angle images is being used to try to identify the final touchdown point of Rosetta’s lander Philae. The images were taken around the time of landing on 12 November when Rosetta was about 18 km from the centre of Comet 67P/Churyumov-Gerasimenko (about 16 km from the surface).
The signal confirming the first touchdown arrived on Earth at 16:03 GMT (17:03 CET). It is thought that Philae bounced twice before settling on the surface of the comet.
The lander has not yet been identified and images are still to be downloaded from the Rosetta spacecraft for further analysis.
Credit: ESA/Rosetta/MPS for OSIRIS Team MPS/UPD/LAM/IAA/SSO/INTA/UPM/DASP/IDA
First comet panoramic
Rosetta’s lander Philae has returned the first panoramic image from the surface of a comet. The view, captured by the CIVA-P imaging system, shows a 360º view around the point of final touchdown. Parts of Philae’s landing gear can be seen in some of the frames.
Confirmation of Philae’s touchdown on the surface of Comet 67P/Churyumov-Gerasimenko arrived on Earth at 16:03 GMT/17:03 CET on 12 November.
Credit: ESA/Rosetta/Philae/CIVA
Comet panoramic – lander orientation
Rosetta’s lander Philae has returned the first panoramic image from the surface of a comet. The view, captured by the CIVA-P imaging system, shows a 360º view around the point of final touchdown. Superimposed on top of the image is a sketch of the Philae lander in the configuration the lander team currently believe it is in.
Confirmation of Philae’s touchdown on the surface of Comet 67P/Churyumov-Gerasimenko arrived on Earth at 16:03 GMT/17:03 CET on 12 November.
Credit: ESA/Rosetta/Philae/CIVA
