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Philae Lander Facing 'Eternal Hibernation' on Comet, Says ESA

The European Space Agency said on February 12 that the Philae lander faces “eternal hibernation” on the comet on which it landed. On November 12, 2014, Philae made history when it left the Rosetta spacecraft after a 10-year voyage and successfully landed on comet 67P/Churyumov-Gerasimenko. The lander sent back the first images from a comet’s surface and collected data for 60 hours. The lander has been silent since July 9, the ESA said.

DLR, the German aerospace agency that operated the lander, said on February 12: “Unfortunately, the probability of Philae re-establishing contact with our team at the DLR Lander Control Center (LCC) is almost zero.” Credit: YouTube/ESA