Steady stream of data from comet-lander but battery is running out

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Europe's Philae lander is doing well and has succeeded in planting a thermometer in the comet where it touched down this week, the European Space Agency said Friday.

Scientists have received a steady stream of data from the lander, which on Wednesday became the first spacecraft to touch down on a comet and has since sent its first images from the surface of the body, known as 67P/Churyumov-Gerasimenko.

See also: Rosetta's ultimate mission: Landing on a comet

However, their job is complicated by the fact that Philae landed next to a cliff that is blocking sunlight from its solar panels.

Planting a thermometer in the surface was Philae's first so-called "mechanical operation" but ESA says it will hold off on any more for now Read more...

More about Space, Us World, Comet, Philae, and Comet Landing



from MashableThe Associated Press