Rosetta's lander Philae safely on the surface of Comet 67P/Churyumov-Gerasimenko - Source: AP
The washing machine-sized lander has a close-up camera on its underside and is also mounted with seven high-definition micro-cameras, each weighing just 100 grams.
But the flow of images may not last. After bouncing twice, scientists say that Philae appears to have landed in the shadow of a cliff and may not be getting enough sunlight to recharge its solar panels.
A pioneering robotic spacecraft shut down on Saturday after radioing results of its first and probably last batch of scientific experiments from the surface of a comet, scientists said.
Batteries aboard the European Space Agency’s Philae comet lander drained, shutting down the washing machine-sized probe after an adventurous and largely unscripted 57-hour mission.
Carried aboard the orbiting Rosetta mothership, Philae floated to the surface of comet 67P/Churyumov-Gerasimenko on Thursday, but failed to deploy anchoring harpoons.
Upon contacting the comet’s unexpectedly hard surface, it bounced back up into space twice then came to rest at a still-unknown location about 1 km (0.6 mile) from its original target.
