ESA Releases First Images of Philae on Comet

By: Wendy on 09:37

The combination photo of different images taken with the CIVA camera system released by the European Space Agency ESA on Thursday Nov. 13, 2014 shows Rosetta's lander Philae as it is safely on the surface of Comet 67P/Churyumov-Gerasimenko, as these first CIVA images confirm. One of the lander's three feet can be seen in the foreground. Philae became the first spacecraft to land on a comet when it touched down Wednesday on the comet, 67P/Churyumov-Gerasimenko.

The lander is expected to send more images from its landing site, named Agilkia. These are the first images ever taken from a comet's surface. Philae will also drill into the surface to study the composition, and witness close up how a comet changes as its exposure to the sun varies. With its primary battery, Philae will remain active on the surface for about two-and-a-half days. Philae's mothership, the Rosetta spacecraft, will remain in orbit around the comet through 2015. The orbiter will continue detailed studies as the comet approaches the sun and then moves away.

In addition to their well-deserved reputation as beautiful cosmic objects, comets hold vital clues about our solar system's history. They are considered primitive building blocks of the solar system that are literally frozen in time. Comets may have played a part in "seeding" Earth with water and, possibly, the basic ingredients for life.

Credit: Esa/Rosetta/Philae

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