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eppur_se_muova

(36,259 posts)
Fri Jan 30, 2015, 11:49 PM Jan 2015

Controllers now banking on Philae wake-up call (BBC)

30 January 2015 Last updated at 09:28 ET

By Jonathan Amos
Science correspondent, BBC News

The Philae probe made its historic touchdown on the 4km-wide "icy dirtball" 67P in November, but rapidly went silent when its battery ran flat.

High-resolution pictures of the surface of the comet acquired by the orbiting Rosetta satellite have failed to identify the lander's location.

Controllers say they will simply wait now for Philae itself to call home.

They will begin listening in a few weeks' time with the hope that communications could be established in the May/June timeframe.

This would be when improved lighting conditions at the probe's presumed resting place provide enough power to run the onboard radio transmitter.



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more: http://www.bbc.com/news/science-environment-30931443

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Controllers now banking on Philae wake-up call (BBC) (Original Post) eppur_se_muova Jan 2015 OP
Hello little feller shenmue Jan 2015 #1
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