Philae’s landing, frequent flyers of research and animal COVID – Nature.com

Rosettas lander Philae on the surface of a comet (artists impression).Credit: ESA/ATG medialab
Philaes landing chaos
The chaotic crash-landing of a robotic spacecraft called Philae has yielded serendipitous insights into the softness of comets.
In 2014, the pioneering European Space Agency (ESA) lander touched down on comet 67P/ChuryumovGerasimenko, after a ten-year journey. But rather than fix itself to the surface, Philae bounced twice and ended up on its side under a shady overhang, cutting its…

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