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Angular momentum and Philae's descent

Blanco, Philip

Rosetta Mission's "7 Hours of Terror" and Philae's Descent

Blanco, Philip

In November 2014 the Rosetta mission to Comet 67P/Churyumov-Gerasimenko made the headlines when its Philae lander completed a successful unpowered descent onto the surface of the comet nucleus after "7 hours of terror" for the mission scientists. 67P's irregular shape and rotation made this task even more challenging. Philae fell almost radially t…