In 2014, after a ten-year journey through the Solar System, the Rosetta spacecraft released its tiny companion, Philae, toward the surface of Comet 67P/Churyumov–Gerasimenko.
For the first time in history, humanity touched a comet. Philae’s harpoons failed to fire, and it bounced — twice — before coming to rest in the shadows of a cliff. Its batteries drained quickly, but not before sending home priceless data: the composition of ancient ice and dust older than the planets themselves.
It was a reminder of how fragile exploration can be… and how far we’ve come. Even when the landing didn’t go perfectly, it still made history.
V101 SPACE
November 12, on this day, we landed on a comet!
In 2014, after a ten-year journey through the Solar System, the Rosetta spacecraft released its tiny companion, Philae, toward the surface of Comet 67P/Churyumov–Gerasimenko.
For the first time in history, humanity touched a comet.
Philae’s harpoons failed to fire, and it bounced — twice — before coming to rest in the shadows of a cliff. Its batteries drained quickly, but not before sending home priceless data: the composition of ancient ice and dust older than the planets themselves.
It was a reminder of how fragile exploration can be… and how far we’ve come.
Even when the landing didn’t go perfectly, it still made history.
#OnThisDay #SpaceHistory #ESA #V101Space
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