philae

All the Incredible Things We Learned From Our First Trip to a Comet

The historic Rosetta mission has finally come to an end. Over the past two years, the probe’s many instruments have scanned virtually every nook and cranny of this weirdly shaped rock, unleashing a treasure trove of new information about comets in general, and 67P/Churyumov–Gerasimenko in particular. When Halley’s Comet paid us a visit back in…

Tech News George Dvorsky

How Scientists Found the Tiny Philae Lander On a Giant Comet

In the shadow of a cliff on an icy rock 700 million kilometers from Earth, a washing machine-sized robot by the name of Philae has spent the last two years in hibernation. We’d already given up hope of speaking with humanity’s first and only comet lander ever again, and time was running out to catch…

Space & Spaceflight Maddie Stone

The Last, Desperate Attempt to Contact the Philae Lander Has Probably Failed

Philae, the brave little comet lander that captured our hearts last year, has probably fallen silent for good. After a final, desperate effort to contact the spacecraft over the weekend didn’t pan out, the German Aerospace Agency (DLR) reports that the chances of ever speaking to the probe again are slim—and they’re growing slimmer every…

Space & Spaceflight Maddie Stone

Cool Visualization Lets You See Philae Bounce and Tumble as It Lands on a Comet

It was one year ago today that the Philae Lander bounced, spun, and tumbled across the surface of Comet 67P/Churyumov-Gerasimenko. To commemorate the historic event, the European Space Agency has released an animated video chronicling the lander’s chaotic landing. To piece together the details of the Philae landing, the ESA has spent the better part…

Space & Spaceflight George Dvorsky

Catch up on the Rosetta Mission with an Adorable Claymation Clip

Haven’t stayed on top of the Rosetta mission? Learn about the spacecraft, lander, and what we’ve learned from the comet so far in under 3 minutes of charming stop motion. The Royal Observatory is back with another claymation-style animation, this time running through why we launched the Rosetta spacecraft, what happened to the bouncy little…

Tech News Mika McKinnon

The Rosetta Space Mission, Explained with Claymation

The Royal Observatory Greenwich has been posting some adorable space-themed animations, but this one detailing the European Space Agency’s Rosetta Mission and the landing of Philae on comet 67P is particularly charming. Can we have clay versions of all our space robots? [via The Kid Should See This]

io9 Lauren Davis

This Video Highlights How Incredibly Slowly Philae Landed on its Comet

A new real-time video of Philae’s descent shows it took the probe longer to drift from Rosetta down to the surface of Comet 67P/Churyumov-Gerasimenko than it would’ve taken you to walk the same distance. We knew the tiny lander Philae was incredibly gentle during its historic descent to Comet 67P/Churyumov-Gerasimenko, but we didn’t really understand…

Tech News Mika McKinnon

We Found the Building Blocks of Life on a Comet

Last week, a slew of scientific papers told the story of comet lander Philae’s bumpy touchdown,comet 67P’s surprisingly fluffy surface, and — most exciting — the discovery of life’s building blocks there. We haven’t found life. But we may have found part of life’s origin story, buried on this icy rock. When scientists say they’ve…

Tech News Maddie Stone

We Actually Learned a Lot From Philae’s Botched Landing on Comet 67/P

The ESA’s attempt to land a probe on Comet 67P/Churyumov-Gerasimenko didn’t go as planned, but the mission has been far from a failure. A recent analysis of Philae’s harrowing journey across the comet has revealed some fascinating clues about its surface, while providing critical insights for future comet missions. A meticulous analysis of Philae’s first…

io9 George Dvorsky

The Philae Comet Lander Has Gone Silent Yet Again

The Philae lander, the first probe to ever touch down on a comet, hasn’t made a peep in 11 days, prompting fears that it has shifted its position, and not for the better. Above: Comet 67P/Churyumov-Gerasimenko on July 7, 2015 Since it emerged from hibernation on June 14, 2015, Philae has made intermittent and sporadic…

io9 George Dvorsky

What Other Scientists Are Saying About Today’s “Life on a Comet” Claim

This morning, several news outlets gave voice to an extraordinary claim: Comet 67P/Churyumov-Gerasimenko, where the spacecraft Philae awoke last month, could be home to alien life. But extraordinary claims, we all know, require extraordinary evidence. So guess what these morning’s claims were lacking! To bring you up to speed: Astrobiologists Max Wallis and Chandra Wickramasinghe…

io9 Robbie Gonzalez

Rosetta’s Comet Is Developing Giant Sinkholes Before Our Eyes

Watch your step, Philae! 67P, the comet we landed a space probe on last fall, is apparently riddled with sinkholes. And as the massive ball of ice and dust hurls itself toward the sun, its surface is continuing to evolve. That, at least, is the latest fascinating comet discovery to make its way to Earth…

Space & Spaceflight Maddie Stone

This Is Where Philae Phones Home

Earlier this week, the Philae lander finally woke up after seven months in hibernation on Comet 67P. And this is rather plain desk where the messages arrived. Well, what were you expecting? The European Space Agency released this wonderfully normal photograph yesterday, and it’s a lovely reminder that very normal people do very exciting science…

Space & Spaceflight Jamie Condliffe

Now That The Philae Comet Lander Is Awake, What Happens Next?

This past weekend, the Philae Lander awoke from its 211-day hibernation on Comet 67P/Churyumov–Gerasimenko. The dramatic receipt of signals from the probe triggered renewed activity among mission planners who are now trying to figure out what to do next. Here’s how things could unfold. Top image: The comet as seen on June 13, just a…

io9 George Dvorsky

Could This Be The ESA’s Missing Comet Lander?

After months of searching, the European Space Agency says it may have finally caught a glimpse of the missing Philae Lander on the surface of Comet 67P/Churyumov-Gerasimenko. During its historic descent back in November 2014, the lander’s harpoons failed to properly deploy and its ice screws were not enough to secure it at its intended…

io9 George Dvorsky

This Is The Week That Philae Could Return From The Dead

It has been nearly four months since Philae landed on Comet 67P. Because the probe landed in the shadow of a cliff, it couldn’t draw sufficient energy from the sun. But later this week, there’s a slim chance the probe could awaken and send a signal to the Rosetta spacecraft. Comet 67P is currently 320…

io9 George Dvorsky

Stunning Close-Up Comet Photos From Rosetta’s High-Speed Flyby

The Rosetta probe has been consistently blowing our puny little minds with photos beamed back from Comet 67P/Churyumov-Gerasimenko, but these new photos, taken as Rosetta conducted a low-altitude flyby, give a whole new perspective. As 67P gets close to the Sun (close in space terms: it’s still over 200 million miles away), it’s heating up…

Space & Spaceflight Chris Mills

Where Is Philae, And When Will It Wake Up?

The hunt for Rosetta’s misplaced lander on comet 67P/Churyumov-Gerasimenko is like staring out an airplane window trying to find a washing machine in a field of boulders. These gorgeous new images from the European Space Agency highlight the incredible challenge of finding a tiny robot on a huge comet. The tumbling descent of Philae to…

Tech News Mika McKinnon

Neat new image sequence of Rosetta’s lander descending to the comet

Check out this sequence of 19 photos of the Philae lander descending to the surface of comet 67P/Churyumov–Gerasimenko on November 12, 2014, taken by Rosetta’s OSIRIS imager. ESA says the timestamp marked on the images are in GMT. SPLOID is delicious brain candy. Follow us on Facebook or Twitter.

Sploid Jesus Diaz

Biggest Scientific Breakthroughs Of 2014

This year, humanity landed on its first comet, a child was born to a woman with a transplanted womb, and a fossilized sea shell forced us to reconsider our conceptions of human culture. Those are just a taste of the 20 achievements, innovations, and advances we’ve selected for our roundup of 2014’s biggest scientific breakthroughs.…

io9 Robbie Gonzalez, Levi Gadye, and Mika McKinnon

philae

All the Incredible Things We Learned From Our First Trip to a Comet

How Scientists Found the Tiny Philae Lander On a Giant Comet

The Last, Desperate Attempt to Contact the Philae Lander Has Probably Failed

Cool Visualization Lets You See Philae Bounce and Tumble as It Lands on a Comet

Catch up on the Rosetta Mission with an Adorable Claymation Clip

The Rosetta Space Mission, Explained with Claymation

This Video Highlights How Incredibly Slowly Philae Landed on its Comet

We Found the Building Blocks of Life on a Comet

We Actually Learned a Lot From Philae’s Botched Landing on Comet 67/P

The Philae Comet Lander Has Gone Silent Yet Again

What Other Scientists Are Saying About Today’s “Life on a Comet” Claim

Rosetta’s Comet Is Developing Giant Sinkholes Before Our Eyes

This Is Where Philae Phones Home

Now That The Philae Comet Lander Is Awake, What Happens Next?

Could This Be The ESA’s Missing Comet Lander?

This Is The Week That Philae Could Return From The Dead

Stunning Close-Up Comet Photos From Rosetta’s High-Speed Flyby

Where Is Philae, And When Will It Wake Up?

Neat new image sequence of Rosetta’s lander descending to the comet

Biggest Scientific Breakthroughs Of 2014

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