CANADA: After the European comet lander gave Rosetta the silent treatment since June 24 Philae communicated with the orbiter Thursday, according to the European Space Agency.
Stable contact lasted 12 minutes before failing and was a boost to the lander team’s mood after attempting to contact Philae since July 5. The lander control team at German Aerospace Center DLR was able to receive measurement data from the COmet Nucleus Sounding Experiment by Radiowave Transmission (CONSERT) instrument.
Communicating with Philae is a challenge because the lander uses the Rosetta orbiter as a radio relay to talk with Earth. The orbiter’s location around comet 67P/Churyumov-Gerasimenko does not allow for regular communications with Philae. Navigating a comet 186 million miles from Earth is no easy task. The comet rotation is 12.4 hours, allowing contact with Earth twice per day through Rosetta and can only happen when there is enough solar light to generate power to Philae’s solar panels.
Philae’s team hopes that the lander will be able to change its batteries, to make scientific work possible no matter what time of day it is on the comet.
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