This morning marks
one of the most exciting moments in space exploration in years: Rosetta’s lander, Philae, will touch down on the comet 67P/Churyumov–Gerasimenko. It’s still making its way down to the comet, but the little lander that could is already snapping photos and sending them home.
Rosetta and Philae, which each have
adorably anthropomorphized Twitter accounts, discussed the following “postcard,” showing the view looking back at Rosetta after Philae had separated from its momma-craft:
.@philae2014’s first postcard just after separation – it’s of me! #CometLanding
Credit: ESA/Rosetta/Philae/CIVA pic.twitter.com/OXJwGunL3V— ESA Rosetta Mission (@ESA_Rosetta) November 12, 2014
Philae, which took the image using CIVA—one of the many gadgets the lander is taking to the comet—reported that it liked the view, and there are plenty more to come:
.@ESA_Rosetta I will send you hundreds of postcards from #67P 🙂 #CometLanding
— Philae Lander (@Philae2014) November 12, 2014
You can clearly see Rosetta’s solar array, despite the reflections of the sun and the blur. About an hour later, Rosetta sent its own postcard—this one of Philae:
It’s me… landing on a comet & feeling good! MT @ESA_Rosetta: I see you too! #CometLanding pic.twitter.com/DjU0J1Ey4H
— Philae Lander (@Philae2014) November 12, 2014
Awww.
After Philae successfully touched down this morning, images have begun arriving—and they’re magical. Here’s an image of the comet, coming closer but still about three kilometers or 1.8 miles away:
Follow along with us here as we watch ongoing history being made:
https://livestream.com/accounts/362/events/3544091/player?autoPlay=false&mute=false
