Rosetta Comet Lander is in a Shadow and Needs to Catch Sun Rays to Recharge Batteries
ByWith the celebration subsiding around the historic comet landing of the Rosetta satellite's Philae lander, the European Space Agency (ESA) is finally set to get to their main science mission.
According to BBC News, the ESA may be facing a challenge right away, such as the battery power the probe has left after such a long journey. One unfortunate aspect of the landing was that Rosetta's solar panels were left in the shadow of a cliff on Comet 67P/CG.
Due to its incredible distance from Earth, Rosetta had to rely on pre-set commands to latch Philae onto the comet. The spacecraft takes 28 minutes to transmit data to the mission managers on Earth, so the ESA could not control the landing attempt themselves.
"We could be somewhere in the rim of this crater, which could explain this bizarre... orientation that you have seen," Dr. Stefan Ulamec, the landing team's leader, told BBC News. "I can't really give you much more than you interpret yourself from looking at these beautiful images."
It seems as though Philae missed its mark, as early reports indicated the lander bounced off the comet and then re-hooked its harpoons to secure the landing. Philae was already able to beam back stunning photos of the comet, but scientists are truly excited to learn more of the Solar System's origins thanks to the materials that make up the space rock as it heads toward the sun.
All considered thus far, Rosetta Flight Director Andrea Accomazzo told USA Today the mission is going as well as it could.
"We had a perfect pass; the radio link was extremely stable and we could download everything according to the nominal plan," he said.
Jean-Pierre Bibring, a Rosetta mission scientist, said the team is actively trying to work out a solution to their problem. They would like to reposition the spacecraft so it can catch some rays and recharge.