Grave of Philae Lander Found on Comet After 2-Year Search

The European Space Agency's (ESA) Philae lander had been lost for almost two years. Finally, the search had ended after images from the mothership, Rosetta, revealed its resting place. Philae lander's grave is on none other than Comet 67P.

Back in November 12, 2014, ESA's Philae lander arrived on Comet 67P. Yet, scientists could not pinpoint its final location due to its landing, which did not go as expected. The spacecraft's anchoring harpoons had failed to deploy, causing it to make a triple touchdown before dropping off into a shadowy zone.

Working with what was left of its battery, Philae lander managed to send out 60 hours of data which contained vital findings that include the detection of organics on Comet 67P. Philae lander made erratic contact with Rosetta before ESA declared the mission was over in July, the year after the last signal from it was detected.

Yet, thanks to the pictures from Rosetta's Osiris camera, scientists managed to pinpoint Philae lander's exact location. The images show Philae lodged in a shadowy crack, with three of its legs visible.

"With only a month left of the Rosetta mission, we are so happy to have finally imaged Philae, and to see it in such amazing detail," stated Cecilia Tubiana of the OSIRIS narrow-angle camera team.

ESA's Rosetta members are nothing short of delighted over the news. The discovery in fact comes at such a great time as ESA plans to end Rosetta's 12-year mission by September 30.

"This remarkable discovery comes at the end of a long, painstaking search. We were beginning to think that Philae would remain lost forever. It is incredible we have captured this at the final hour. This wonderful news means that we now have the missing 'ground-truth' information needed to put Philae's three days of science into proper context, now that we know where that ground actually is," shared Patrick Martin, ESA's Rosetta Mission Manager in a statement.