Philae, a probe that's part of the Rosetta mission, landed on a comet. Due to unforeseen landing difficulties, the device now rests in the shadows of a cliff, hindering research.
The space probe Philae made history when it recently landed on a comet known as 67P. Unfortunately, its touchdown was a bit rocky, and it's positioning is not ideal.
Initial images from the lander appear to show it in the shadow of nearby cliff wall that is blocking a significant amount of sunlight from reaching it.
Concerns have risen that research may be obstructed due to this positioning.The probe’s battery has sufficient power to last about 2 and a half days, but needs to be re-charged via its solar panels.
In its current position, the lander can only receive 1 1/2 hours of sunlight a day, instead of the planned seven.
On Philae’s first attempted landing it reportedly bounced over 3 thousand feet up. The lack of gravity caused it to hover for almost two hours before the comet's weak gravitational pull brought it back to its surface, only to bounce again.
Seven minutes later, it finally rested on the comet.
The comet is currently speeding through space at 80,000 mph, 300 million miles above the Earth.
Scientists are receiving data from the probe, including initial analysis of the comet's internal structure and the first photos ever captured on a comet's surface.
