Philae the Comet Lander

space exploration · comets · robots

Bouncy robot explorer. Philae was supposed to stick to the comet with special harpoons, but they didn't work, so the spacecraft bounced off the surface twice before finally staying put.

Landing on a comet. On November 12, 2014, Philae touched down on comet 67P and became the first spacecraft ever to softly land on a comet's surface without crashing into it.

Long journey finally over. Philae traveled with its bigger partner spacecraft Rosetta for over 10 years through space before separating to land on the comet.

Sending home pictures. Even though Philae landed in a tricky spot, it managed to send back images and science data to Earth for about 64 hours before running out of power.

European Space Agency mission. Philae was built and launched by scientists from Europe who wanted to study this strange space rock up close.