Search Publications

The Philae lander reveals low-strength primitive ice inside cometary boulders

Parker, Joel Wm.; Auster, Hans-Ulrich; Heinisch, Philip +25 more

On 12 November 2014, the Philae lander descended towards comet 67P/Churyumov-Gerasimenko, bounced twice off the surface, then arrived under an overhanging cliff in the Abydos region. The landing process provided insights into the properties of a cometary nucleus^1-3. Here we report an investigation of the previously undiscovered site of …

An orbital water-ice cycle on comet 67P from colour changes

Longobardo, Andrea; Mottola, Stefano; Arnold, Gabriele +10 more

Solar heating of a cometary surface provides the energy necessary to sustain gaseous activity, through which dust is removed^1,2. In this dynamical environment, both the coma^3,4 and the nucleus^5,6 evolve during the orbit, changing their physical and compositional properties. The environment around an active nucleus …

Eye of a skull reveals details of cometary materials

Asphaug, Erik

The Philae spacecraft was meant to anchor itself to the surface of the comet 67P/Churyumov-Gerasimenko, but instead bounced into a hidden grotto. The telltale markings of its passage reveal details of the comet's fragile boulders.