Cologne . Two years after attending for the first time in history by landing a minilab in a comet, the spacecraft Roseta has sent a photo lab Philae in the comet Tschuri .
So far scarce certainties and the exact point where it was installed Philae was unknown. The image provided allows to conclude the assumptions.
The lab sits in a cleft of the piece 67P / Tschurjumow-Gerassimenko, said today the European Space Agency (ESA) and the German Aerospace center (DLR).
the photograph was taken by the high-performance camera Osiris, located on board the spacecraft Roseta . It was taken on September 2 during a flight performed on the comet at a height of 2.7 km.
“We are thrilled to have achieved such a detailed picture of Philae when almost a month needed to conclude the mission Roseta , “said Cecilia Tubiana, the head of the Osiris camera equipment, through the statement.
in the German Aerospace Center also this joy is shared.
“we finally have a complete picture of Philae ,” said Koen Geurts, from the DLR.
in the picture two of the three legs that make up the body of the robot are perceived. the image shows why, after the landing of November 12, 2014, it was so complicated communication with Philae .
Three days after his crash landing, the robot began supplying data permanently until their batteries ran out and started hibernate. Its solar cells was not allowed to generate enough energy and contacts became increasingly difficult.
The researchers wondered for months how was Philae . They doubted if he was inclined under a rock or in a hole. Now you know what his real state, was in a dark recess, in a kind of crack.
With the new pictures, the scientists want to analyze new landing and process his ground. In addition, new photographs bring light to the studies conducted so far.
On 30 September is expected that the space probe “Rosetta” begin an indefinite hibernation on the comet Tschuri . The data that has been facilitating so far should help to better understand the gestation of the solar system.
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