by Benson Agoha | Space Science
On Thursday November 13, 2014 an attempt to land a monitoring robot on a commet - the first of its kind - became reality, after the robot Philae was successfully landed on the Comet identified as `67P/Churyumov–Gerasimenko.'
The mission, a project by the European Space Agency (ESA), was 10 years in the making and mission control duly rejoiced.
Prof Monica Grady of the Open University who was a member of the team that oversaw the landing, was particularly joyous, spreading her arms wide after the successful landing.
But the Philae went dead shortly after landing, leaving scientists unsure whether it was hanging in there or had fallen off. Several theories were considered. One was that it was hanging precariously on a portion of the comet and might have been shielded from the sun.
All things considered, scientists gave up and allowed the Satelite Rosetta, which had been dedicated to tracking Comet 67P to continue its research.
Today, Philae lander had woken up from its long sleep and contacted earth, saying "Hello Earth! Can you hear me? Wow @ESA_Rosetta! That’s a long time… time for me to get back to work! #Lifeonacomet".
In a series of posts ending with the hashtag #Lifeonacomet after she woke up, Philae kept on showing the sign of life, but later went quiet again, as Control Centre began to check it out:
"Hello @ESA_Rosetta! I'm awake! How long have I been asleep? #Lifeonacomet"
"Wow @ESA_Rosetta! That’s a long time… time for me to get back to work! #Lifeonacomet"
"Oh, OK @ESA_Rosetta! I’m still a bit tired anyway… talk to you later! Back to #lifeonacomet!"
"Wow @ESA_Rosetta! That’s a long time… time for me to get back to work! #Lifeonacomet"
ESA Control responded "@Philae2014 Need to check you’re fit, healthy and warm enough first @philae2014! Take it easy for now :)".
( * by Benson Agoha with Lead from the BBC )
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