The Sky Tonight

December 02, 2014

Philae may have clipped crater rim during comet landing
Paris (UPI) Dec 2, 2014
New analysis suggests the history-making Philae lander may have clipped the rim of a crater during its comet landing last month, sending the washing machine-sized craft into a tumble. Whether or not Philae was tipped into a spin, an initial bounce did send the lander off course - ultimately landing successfully, but not in the proper location. Instead of coming to rest in the planned location, the lander ended up in the bottom of a crater. By looking at data collected and transmitted ba ... read more

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