• Question: with such a small chance of a successful landing and the first time was successful, is it worth taking that risk again in the future

    Asked by MillieDaly to Helen on 19 Nov 2014.
    • Photo: Helen Johnson

      Helen Johnson answered on 19 Nov 2014:

      Hey Millie, do you mean landing on a comet? 😀 I think it’s definitely worth taking that risk in the future, as we’re going to learn a huge amount from the Rosetta mission, even though it didn’t all go to plan.

      Philae (the probe that reached the surface of 67P) managed to send back a great deal of information before it ran out of power. It would’ve been able to send us more but it didn’t propel its harpoon out to anchor itself to the comet’s surface, so it bounced a couple of times (almost heading back out into space!) and then ended up resting somewhere it couldn’t collect enough sunlight to power itself.

      The main spacecraft, Rosetta, will continue to orbit the comet and send back lots of useful data. It’ll be the first time we’ve ever seen a comet, up close, as it approaches the Sun. So it’s incredibly exciting. Scientists think comets might have been what brought water to Earth.

Comments