Rosetta space mission: Comet probe Philae now stable after 'failing to attach to surface'

The robot probe Philae is now stable and is sending pictures.

15:34 13 November 2014

After initially failing to attach to the surface, the robot probe Philae, is now stable and is sending pictures. Engineers are now locating the exact position of the European Space agency probe on the surface following its historic landing on the moving comet. 

 

It is hoped that Philae can gain insights into the origins of our Solar System. 

 

Lander project manager Stephan Ulamec previously told the BBC: "We are still not anchored. We are sitting with the weight of the lander somehow on the comet. We are pretty sure where we landed the first time, and then we made quite a leap. Some people say it is in the order of 1 km high.

 

"And then we had another small leap, and now we are sitting there, and transmitting, and everything else is something we have to start understanding and keep interpreting."

 

Esa's Rosetta satellite carried Philae on a 6.4 billion-km (4bn-mile) journey to Comet 67P/Churyumov-Gerasimenko. It was dropped on Wednesday and traveled for seven hours down to the icy body. 

 

Its first landing was confirmed at about 16:05 GMT.