Darmstadt, Germany?-?According to the European Space Agency, their lander, Philae, has finally awakened from its long hibernation.
“Philae is doing very well: It has an operating temperature of -35?C and has 24 Watts available,” explains DLR Philae Project Manager Dr. Stephan Ulamec. “The lander is ready for operations.”
After 60 hours of operation, the solar-powered Philae stopped communicating?in November after its mothership, Rosetta, dropped?it off in a depression on Comet 67P. There was a concern that the extreme cold would permanently disable Philae and prevent it from coming out of hibernation. Team members were surprised to start receiving data today indicating that it was back up and running. A twitter account for Philae tweeted, “Hello Earth! Can you hear me?”
This is an exciting time for the researchers that have been patiently waiting for Philae to wake up. They have thousands of packets of data to sift though. Philae’s last tweet indicates that it may not be at full-power though.
“Oh, OK @ESA_Rosetta! I’m still a bit tired anyway? talk to you later! Back to #lifeonacomet!”
Let’s hope it continues to broadcast vital data as it continues to make its journey nearer to?the Sun. Stay tuned @?https://twitter.com/Philae2014
