Robot from European spacecraft has set foot on comet

This morning, November 13, Europe made history when the Rosetta spacecraft launched Philae to the comet surface of 67P / Churyumov-Gerasimenko, but Philae could not hold completely fixed.

>>>Video: The spacecraft landed on comet 67P / Churyumov-Gerasimenko

According to AFP, the European Space Agency (ESA) claims the experimental robot the size of a refrigerator set foot on the comet surface of 67P / Churyumov-Gerasimenko about seven hours after separating from Rosetta. Currently, this comet is moving in position more than 510 million kilometers from Earth.

However, Philae cannot launch fishing hooks to stand fixed on the surface of the comet. Early radio signals showed that this robot landed gently, bounced up, and then hit the ground again.'Today we landed twice,' said ESA expert Stephan Ulamec.

Photo of comet 67P / Churyumov-Gerasimenko made by the robot Philae during landing - (Photo: Reuters)

Mr. Ulamec expressed his hope that the robot Philae is holding on to the surface of the comet despite being in a different position than originally expected. Now some of Philae's scientific devices have spread to the earth with lots of data. ESA engineers still have to find out why this 100kg robot does not launch two fishing hooks into the comet surface.

If not fixed firmly, it is likely that Philae will be lost due to comet 67P / Churyumov-Gerasimenko with very weak gravity. However, ESA general manager Jean-Jacques Dordain affirmed that this is a great step forward of human civilization.

'Rosetta's mission has made history. This is the first spacecraft to approach a comet and the first to launch a robot onto the comet surface, " said Dordain. Jim Green, director of information science at the US Aeronautics Agency (NASA), also described this as an extraordinary success.

'Landing on a comet's surface is incredibly bold and extraordinary. This is the first step of an important mission. The solar system is human. This project is the first step to mastering it, ' said Jim Green.

The $ 1.3 billion Rosetta project was approved in 1993. ESA launched Rosetta into space in 2004, carrying a Philae robot with 10 scientific devices. After moving about 6.5 billion km in 10 years, Rosetta approached comets 67P / Churyumov-Gerasimenko in August.

The Philae robot has enough battery to operate for 60 hours, but can continue to work until March 2015 thanks to the solar charging system. Whatever happens to Philae, the Rosetta will still follow the comet 67P / Churyumov-Gerasimenko. Rosetta project is expected to end in December 2015.