The European Space Agency's Philae probe landed on the Comet 67P/Churyumov-Gerasimenko not once or twice, but three times, when its anchor system failed to fire. But despite that, the probe is healthy and beaming back stunning photos of its new home.
European Space Agency (ESA) officials still aren't exactly sure where the Rosetta spacecraft's lander, called Philae, ended up after bouncing on the surface of Comet 67P/C-G twice before finally settling down. At the moment, officials think the lander — which was released down to the comet from the Rosetta orbiter Wednesday (Nov. 12) — is in a potentially precarious position away from its initial touchdown site. The new comet surface photos from Philae, released by ESA today, show the lander shadowed by what appears to be some kind of cliff.
"It's amazing where we are," Jean-Pierre Bibring, Rosetta mission scientist, said during an ESA news conference today (Nov. 13). "We landed … Please do not put the emphasis on the failure of the system. It's gorgeous where we are." [Rosetta Comet Landing: Complete Coverage]