Comet lander Philae awakes from hibernation
BERLIN (AP) — The comet lander Philae has awoken from a seven-month hibernation and managed to communicate with Earth for more than a minute, the European Space Agency said Sunday.
The probe became the first spacecraft to land on a comet when it touched down on the icy surface of 67P/Churyumov-Gerasimenko in November. After its historic landing, Philae managed to conduct experiments and send data to Earth for about 60 hours before its batteries were depleted and it was forced to shut down its systems.
Scientists hoped the probe would wake up again as the comet approached the sun, when its solar panels would soak up enough light to charge the on-board battery.
Those hopes were confirmed at 10:28 p.m. (2028 GMT; 4:28 p.m. EDT) on Saturday, when the lander sent a signal back to Earth…
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