Philae Lander Found on Comet 67P
A little spacecraft that was presumed lost has now been found. In 2014, the Philae lander slowly descended from its parent Rosetta spacecraft to the nucleus of Comet C67/P Churyumov-Gerasimenko . At the surface, after a harpoon malfunction, the lander bounced softly twice and eventually sent back images from an unknown location . Earlier this month, though, Rosetta swooped low enough to spot its cub . The meter-sized Philae is seen on the far right of the main image , with inset images showing both a zoom out and a zoom in. At the end of this month, Rosetta itself will be directed to land on 67P , but Rosetta's landing will be harder and, although taking unique images and data, will bring the mission to an end . Free Download: APOD 2017 Calendar: NASA Images