[Kopachris]

Picture of Rosetta taken by Philae on its descent:

[Flipside]

Looks like touchdown!

****ing awesome!

Edit: Looks like they are just checking the telemetry to see just how well the lander dealt with it, but it does appear they are receiving a signal from the probe.

Confirmed, touchdown has happened and communications say it is holding position on the surface.

Absolutely incredible achievement.

[watsisname]

So awesome!  Can't wait to see the first surface shots.

Way to go, ESA!

[Flipside]

It appears that the anchors did not fire, so they cannot confirm that it is attached to the surface firmly. They may try re-firing them to secure position, but we will have to wait for more information before we know more. The first pictures from the landed probe should be arriving soon, so they'll take things from there.

[Lorric]

http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/science-environment-30022469

Why not just get the tattoo after the mission succeeds? Badass tattoo though.

Look at his top and his other tattoos. Now there's a man who definitely marches to the beat of his own drum.

[Hellzed]

From what I read, we'll have no more pictures tonight. Top priority is trying to fire the harpoons (drilling will not be possible without a firm anchoring).

[Phantom Hoover]

http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/science-environment-30022469

Why not just get the tattoo after the mission succeeds? Badass tattoo though.

Look at his top and his other tattoos. Now there's a man who definitely marches to the beat of his own drum.

he's a physicist for god's sake, they're basically competitively eccentric

[Lorric]

Live news feed:

http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/live/science-environment-29985988

EDIT: Google's doodle is now about this mission.

[Flipside]

First shot from the surface, the team are still trying to ascertain the orientation of the final resting point of the probe, seems it bounced more than once, initially launching itself back up 100's of metres from the surface before settling back down again, so it's a testament to the design of the probe that it is still working and sending data.

[Dragon]

A few hundred meters isn't much on a comet. Remember, it's a tiny piece of matter, there's almost no gravity to speak of. This is less like landing and more like docking, as anyone who did anything around Gilly or Bop in KSP can attest.

[Flipside]

The thing is, normally when a probe like this doesn't work first time round, it's more or less done for because of the 30 minute delay in being able to react. Admittedly, Giotto got tipped around when it got near Halleys Comet and took a face full of particle, but still managed to fix itself, so it's not unknown.

I just hope they manage to fix it to the surface hard enough to start taking samples.

[MP-Ryan]

I just hope they manage to fix it to the surface hard enough to start taking samples.

After reading this, I did a little digging, and what I want to know is how the hell did the ESA pack a gas chromatograph and mass spec with fully automated capabilities requiring no human input or reagent mixing into a lander the size of a washing machine?!?!

Technology is amazing.

[Flipside]

I suspect, though, that they are wishing they had included a back-up power supply...

Still, it's a learning situation, and one of the things we have learned is 'when landing on a comet, don't assume that adequate sunlight will be available'

NOTE : I'm not criticizing, I'm just saying that this is something that may be worth considering in future situations, which is sort of the point of missions such as these.

[MP-Ryan]

Sounds like they're hoping the deployment of a couple of the instruments will shift Philae's position a bit so it gets a little more direct sunlight.

I'm still stunned by the incredible amount of knowledge that went into parking a lander on the surface of a hunk of rock floating through space with a distance-time-delay from Earth of nearly half an hour.  The feat is staggering.

[Flipside]

Agreed, it's why I get so annoyed when people say that Space Exploration is pointless and we gain nothing from it for the money, particularly when they do so from a computer with things like IC's etc. Miniaturization has been one of the greatest successes of the Space Program, as the ability to include stuff like Mass Specs onto a washing-machine sized lander proves.

As an aside, a relative of mine worked on the imaging systems for this mission, so I am kind of biased

[watsisname]

Wow, they're thinking the first (of probably several) bounces took ~2 hours and reached ~1km height and ground range.  All from a first contact at barely 1m/s.  Weak comet gravity is weak!

Having done Gilly landings in KSP, I can totally appreciate how nerve wracking this situation would be, combined with the half hour time delay...

I suspect, though, that they are wishing they had included a back-up power supply...

Nah, that would add weight to a system where every trimmed gram is precious.  You don't need back up power if the landing goes as planned, but the landing didn't go as planned.  Unfortunate, and I'm wondering what they will learn about the faults of the harpoon tethering system.

At least the lander is still functioning and in contact with us, and capable of doing good science.  The situation is far from completely lost.  Something of a miracle after all that.  Here's hoping they can achieve a more optimal orientation for recharging.  Then getting properly anchored would be a huge plus.

[MP-Ryan]

You guys all saw the brilliant xkcd comic on this, right?  http://xkcd1446.org/#0  Use the right arrow to scroll through.

[watsisname]

Ja, it is hilarious and adorable.  I wonder if Randall will modify it to account for new understanding of those events. 

[Flipside]

Ah, now Scourge of Ages' post makes sense

First time it was posted, I just got a link to a blank panel titled '???', so I was confused.

[Scourge of Ages]

Figured it was something like that
When I posted it, I didn't realize that there was (or was going to be) a frame-by-frame available. That works muuuch better.