Never Mind Philae’s Topsy-Turvy Touchdown, Its Brief Mission Advances Comet Science
Even the lander’s missteps generated valuable data

11-19-2014 | Clara Moskowitz

For a mission that lasted two days instead of its planned one to six weeks, the scientists behind the European Space Agency (ESA)’s Philae comet lander are surprisingly cheerful. “We’re extremely happy with how the mission went,” lander control team member Valentina Lommatsch said during an ESA press conference November 14. “Beyond words,” gushed Matt Taylor, project scientist for the Rosetta mission, which launched in 2004 and released the Philae lander on November 12.

These reactions might be surprising, given that Philae failed to land on Comet 67P/Churyumov–Gerasimenko as intended. Instead of touching down on a safe spot on the comet and latching on with harpoons, it bounced off the surface twice before finally settling down next to a cliff that is blocking sunlight from reaching its solar panels. As a result, Philae won’t be able to take long-term readings as planned; it has also had trouble drilling below the surface to collect samples for analysis, which is a disappointment. Still, the mission has been overwhelmingly successful, accomplishing between 80 to 90 percent of its main science goals, said Stephan Ulamec, lander manager at the German Aerospace Center. And even the elements of the mission that strayed from the plan, such as the bounced landing, have been useful. Because Philae technically touched down in three places before settling, rather than making a single landing, it was able to measure the magnetic field surrounding the comet at three different points, Taylor said.

More.

But then, you probably already knew all that…

This is the kind of pointless stunt NASA used to indulge in, and which eventually drove it into bankruptcy and public apathy. Sure, the science and technical expertise is dazzling, but it will never yield any true commercial benefit. About the only value we can hope to derive from this spectacle is that it may develop some technologies and staff expertise (at taxpayer expense) that can be applied in the future by the private sector to some more worthwhile projects. The future of space lies in private investment, not government circuses.

The Livestream coverage was awful. Philae landed, and just when one wanted to look at the scenery and hear reports on the health of the lander they immediately cut away to the politicians for 40 minutes of self-congratulations.

Certainly wish them the best, and wish I had the Valium franchise for that area.

Arf