This article is from the source 'bbc' and was first published or seen on . It last changed over 40 days ago and won't be checked again for changes.
You can find the current article at its original source at http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/science-environment-30055383
The article has changed 7 times. There is an RSS feed of changes available.
| Version 2 | Version 3 |
|---|---|
| Comet lander: Future of Philae probe 'uncertain' | Comet lander: Future of Philae probe 'uncertain' |
| (about 1 hour later) | |
| The Philae lander has attempted to drill into the surface of comet 67/P, amid fears that its battery may die in hours. | The Philae lander has attempted to drill into the surface of comet 67/P, amid fears that its battery may die in hours. |
| Researchers at Esa say the instrument is being deployed to its maximum extent despite the risk of toppling the lander. | Researchers at Esa say the instrument is being deployed to its maximum extent despite the risk of toppling the lander. |
| Scientists hope they will also be able to capture some samples for analysis in the robot's onboard laboratories. | Scientists hope they will also be able to capture some samples for analysis in the robot's onboard laboratories. |
| If the battery dies the results may not make it back to Earth. | If the battery dies the results may not make it back to Earth. |
| Esa reported that the drill has extended 25cm from the lander to try to start collecting samples. | Esa reported that the drill has extended 25cm from the lander to try to start collecting samples. |
| Stephan Ulamec, Philae lander manager, said: "The drill has been active today, whether it will sample and will succeed in bringing these samples to ovens we shall know this evening. | Stephan Ulamec, Philae lander manager, said: "The drill has been active today, whether it will sample and will succeed in bringing these samples to ovens we shall know this evening. |
| "This would be fantastic but it is not secured - maybe the battery will be empty before we get contact again." | "This would be fantastic but it is not secured - maybe the battery will be empty before we get contact again." |
| The Esa team says that the solar panels on the lander are getting small amounts of sunlight, but not enough to maintain operations beyond Saturday. | The Esa team says that the solar panels on the lander are getting small amounts of sunlight, but not enough to maintain operations beyond Saturday. |
| "We plan to rotate the lander a little bit so that at the position where we have now this one panel that gets sun, we'll have a slightly larger panel and this would increase the chance that at a later stage the lander could wake up again and start talking to us again," Dr Ulamec added. | "We plan to rotate the lander a little bit so that at the position where we have now this one panel that gets sun, we'll have a slightly larger panel and this would increase the chance that at a later stage the lander could wake up again and start talking to us again," Dr Ulamec added. |
| Valentina Lommatsch from DLR, the German Space Agency, added that she hoped Philae could bounce its way out of its dark spot | |
| "It's very unlikely, we're just throwing around ideas right now. Hopefully, we'll get the link; that's the most important thing. What happens after that... is cream on the top right now." | "It's very unlikely, we're just throwing around ideas right now. Hopefully, we'll get the link; that's the most important thing. What happens after that... is cream on the top right now." |
| Prof Monica Grady of the UK's Open University works on an instrument on Philae called Ptolemy - a shoe-box-sized laboratory. | Prof Monica Grady of the UK's Open University works on an instrument on Philae called Ptolemy - a shoe-box-sized laboratory. |
| "One of the other things about the drill, they are hoping it will move the lander but they don't know how much it will move it, and they don't know if it will bring it out to get more sunshine," she told BBC News. | "One of the other things about the drill, they are hoping it will move the lander but they don't know how much it will move it, and they don't know if it will bring it out to get more sunshine," she told BBC News. |
| Scientists wanted to test the idea that comets like 67/P may have delivered water to the early Earth billions of years ago. Philae had been due to sample some of the comet's ices to see if their chemical signature matched the water found in our planet's oceans. | Scientists wanted to test the idea that comets like 67/P may have delivered water to the early Earth billions of years ago. Philae had been due to sample some of the comet's ices to see if their chemical signature matched the water found in our planet's oceans. |
| But researchers told the BBC that attempts to test the isotopic content of water were power hungry and they are concerned that there will not be enough energy left for the analysis to be carried out. | But researchers told the BBC that attempts to test the isotopic content of water were power hungry and they are concerned that there will not be enough energy left for the analysis to be carried out. |
| Two other instruments were deployed overnight, including a thermometer (MUPUS). | Two other instruments were deployed overnight, including a thermometer (MUPUS). |
| It is designed to probe the top layers of the comet to measure the temperature and other properties. The other instrument, APXS, is a mass spectrometer, which uses the mass of atoms to understand their chemical composition. | It is designed to probe the top layers of the comet to measure the temperature and other properties. The other instrument, APXS, is a mass spectrometer, which uses the mass of atoms to understand their chemical composition. |
| The team is still not sure where on the surface the probe came to rest after bouncing upon landing on Wednesday. | The team is still not sure where on the surface the probe came to rest after bouncing upon landing on Wednesday. |
| Scientists have been examining radio transmissions between the orbiter and the lander to see if they can triangulate a position. | Scientists have been examining radio transmissions between the orbiter and the lander to see if they can triangulate a position. |
| This work has now produced a "circle of uncertainty" within which Philae almost certainly lies. | This work has now produced a "circle of uncertainty" within which Philae almost certainly lies. |
| It is believed that Philae is sitting in the shadow of a cliff, and will not get enough sunlight to work beyond Saturday. | It is believed that Philae is sitting in the shadow of a cliff, and will not get enough sunlight to work beyond Saturday. |
| Launched in 2004, the European Space Agency (Esa) mission hopes to learn about the origins of our Solar System. | Launched in 2004, the European Space Agency (Esa) mission hopes to learn about the origins of our Solar System. |
| It has already sent back the first images ever taken from the crumbling, fractured terrain of a comet. | It has already sent back the first images ever taken from the crumbling, fractured terrain of a comet. |
| Philae got to the icy 67P/Churyumov-Gerasimenko on the back of Esa's Rosetta satellite after a 10-year, 6.4 billion-km (4bn-mile) journey, which reached its climax on Wednesday with a seven-hour drop to the surface. | Philae got to the icy 67P/Churyumov-Gerasimenko on the back of Esa's Rosetta satellite after a 10-year, 6.4 billion-km (4bn-mile) journey, which reached its climax on Wednesday with a seven-hour drop to the surface. |