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ROBOT PROBE PHILAE uploaded a slew of last-minute data to Earth yesterday from a comet in deep space, before going to sleep at the end of its historic mission, ground controllers said.
Data streamed in as soon as Europe’s pioneering robot lab re-established late-night contact with its orbiting mother ship, Rosetta, but its limited battery soon started wavering.
“My #lifeonacomet has just begun,” said an official tweet in the name of the washing machine-sized lander perched on comet 67P/Churyumov-Gerasimenko since Wednesday — concluding with a restful “zzzzz”.
The European Space Agency (ESA) said its robot lab had entered “idle mode”, with all instruments and most systems shut down after three days of non-stop work — taking pictures and probing the comet’s density, temperature, composition and atmosphere.
“Prior to falling silent, the lander was able to transmit all science data gathered,” said a statement.
The lander and its mothership, which relayed Philae’s data to Earth, had only two communications windows per day — the last opened around 2130 GMT yesterday and closed at 0036 GMT the next morning as Rosetta disappeared in orbit behind the comet.
Mission controllers had feared the robot may not even have enough power to make contact during this window — but they were pleasantly surprised.
“Science from an alien world” ESA Operations tweeted when contact was made. “Info now flowing from @ Philae2014.”
The channel should open again around 1000 GMT Saturday, but lander manager Stephan Ulamec told AFP from mission control in Darmstadt, Germany, he did “not really expect” contact with Philae then.
“The chances that we could reestablish the link again tomorrow are really very, very low,” he said.
“The battery is not completely empty, but it is below the level the central computer needs to boot” up.
In one of many jaw-dropping achievements, the robot lab appears to have lifted itself slightly yesterday and rotate the larger of its solar panels to absorb as much energy as possible to be stored for a possible wakeup later.
Philae had landed in a dark ditch after a bouncy touchdown Wednesday, and did not get enough sunlight to recharge its batteries sufficiently to extend its mission.
Mission engineers dream, however, of making contact with the lander “at some point” in the coming months as the comet, with Philae hopefully still clinging to its surface, moves closer to the Sun.
Philae’s historic on-site survey of a comet travelling at 18 kilometres (11 miles) per second, currently at a distance of 510 million kilometres (320 million miles) from Earth, is the highlight in a more than decade-long mission.
Philae landed Wednesday after a nail-biting seven-hour, 20-km descent from Rosetta, which had travelled more than a decade and 6.5 billion kilometres (four billion miles) to meet up with the comet in August this year.
The touchdown did not go entirely as planned, when Philae’s duo of anchoring harpoons failed to deploy and it lifted off again… twice.
The lander finally settled in a crevice in a location that remains a mystery, and data revealed it was shadowed from sunlight that could have extended its core, battery-powered mission of 60-odd hours.
‘First comet drilling’
Among the most anticipated data from Philae is chemical analysis of a drill sample which scientists hope will shed light on the origins of the Solar System 4.6 billion years ago, and maybe even life on Earth.
The ESA confirmed that Philae had drilled Friday, though it did not specify whether a sample had been obtained.
The Rosetta-Philae team said Friday they were ecstatic with the results.
“We’re in the middle of drinking champagne because this mission is a success,” Philippe Gaudon, the head of the Rosetta project at France’s space studies centre CNES, told AFP early this morning.
All 10 instruments on board the 100-kilogramme (22-pound) lab had kicked into action.
“This machine performed magnificently under tough conditions, and we can be fully proud of the incredible scientific success Philae has delivered,” said Ulamec.
The €1.3-billion mission aims to unlock the secrets of comets, which some astrophysicists believe may have “seeded” Earth with some of the ingredients for life.
- © AFP 2014.
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Convenient they can blame the EU now
@Pj Browne: god forbid we follow laws and agreements.
I wouldn’t mind but it’s literally the government’s job to know how to pass laws and give enough notice to those affected. They’re getting away with doing it to renters, but it sounds like the people who have managed to afford a spare room are able to stand up for their agreed legal right to fair notice.
@Fiona Fitzgerald: sorry what do you mean they are getting away with it on renters ? If you mean not extending the temporary winter eviction ban I think you have that all messed up
Slightly confused about this article? What exactly is the delay? There has to be a reason for this but the article implies that it’s the EU who is for some unknown reason delaying the process. Clearer journalism would help
@Dave Phelan: It says they want to “engage with stakeholders”, which to me means they want to present the data from their analysis and need those at the top to prioritise it over other issues based on that data. The real question to me is why wasn’t this analysis done in the beginning when it was first proposed?
If you have bought a house, paid vat, paye, stamp duty etc, then the government should not be able to prevent you doing something lawful with it. Deflecting blame from their own failures
@Dave Harris: in fairness nobody is allowed do what they like once they buy something. It does seem unfair that somebody could suddenly find themselves living next door to an ever rotate number of strangers on holidays who often don’t respect locals. Think there is a place for short lets but it can’t go on as is.
@Dave Harris: lol lawful? The state decides what’s lawful. In this case lawful is changing it so that you have to have planning permission before turning your property in a domestic structure into a business. All the other people in the area/building bought based on it being a residence not being a hotel. And every other lawful accommodation business needs to register with bord fáilte and have the required standards and checks in place so why should these get away with it?
@Dave Harris: Laws change and rightly so as society evolves. Airbnb has had a huge impact on housing crises across Ireland and internationally. The government has failed on a number of fronts in relation to housing and regulating short-term rents is one thing they need to act on. We have tourists in home while homeless and refugees are in hotels.
@Emma Meehan: never sure on this “huge” impact in Ireland. Never saw any figures.
12,000 rental units – what a load of cobblers. As a former Airbnb host, I know that most rural hosts have a couple of rooms in their own house or a granny flat and they are definitely not viable accommodation long term. It’s probably different in the cities. But now the rules mean getting planning permission, registration fees, etc. So it’s an end to the farming community or elderly people getting the chance of a few quid in summer time and bringing much needed tourism to the regions. When something is not broken, why try to fix it? As the hosts I’ve been listening to are just getting out. Same as with small landlords, there’s too much hassle, beaurocracy and expense.
@Shelley Keary: As someone who uses Airbnb regularly for accommodation in rural parts of Ireland, I’d definitely agree that most places even those at the higher end in terms of standards are definitely not suitable for long-term renters. They are often in beautiful parts of the country and ideal for some quiet time away but located in very isolated areas, with limited access to services such as schools, medical centres etc, and only having a one shop village nearby that requires driving to. Flaky internet so not suitable for remote work etc, prone to dampness in winter, no childcare available & absolutely no transport options. A blanket approach to classifying all Airbnbs in the same way is ludicrous. The reality of available, suitable, properties is much less then the projections given.
@Shelley Keary: and taxes
Ireland, behind the curve as usual. https://www.nyc.gov/assets/buildings/pdf/MultipleDwellingLaw.pdf
@zephyrum: what has US laws got to do with Irish and EU laws?
The change of use planning rules which have not been announced for Short Term Rentals by the Housing Minister but form part of the proposed Tourism Register is the reason thousands of self catering tourist accommodation providers voiced their concerns to the EU via the TRIS submission process. Rural and coastal tourist accommodation is being put in the same boiling pot as urban short term let’s who are capitalising on higher rental rates and should be the target of the government but all offering these services will be put into the same net. This will have a significant impact on rural businesses that provide benefit to all local businesses whether food and bev, tourist attractions, etc. These rural businesses are already reeling from reduced numbers if accommodation in Summer 2022 due to 35 percent of accommodation contracted to the government for refugees.
Not sure why a Tourism Register is being linked to housing policy that hasn’t been announced? TRIS requires that such policies should be transparent. There was no indication either on what the registration annual cost would be, so I’m wondering why the Govt is surprised that this proposed legislation is at a standstill till Dec 23. Maybe Housing Dept should be looking at their shortcomings rather than trying to pin the homelessness problem on anyone and everyone but themselves.
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