--- title: Philae Comet Probe Landed Successfully and Sending Signals to Rosetta description: The European Space Agency’s Philae lander successfully landed on a comet and is sending signals backs after an early mishap. canonical: https://time.com/3583367/comet-probe-landed-successfully-scientists-say/ author: Noah Rayman article:opinion: false article:content_tier: free article:published_time: 2014-11-13T13:59:36.000Z article:modified_time: 2026-05-11T05:07:04.445Z article:section: Science og:title: Philae Comet Probe Landed Successfully and Sending Signals to Rosetta og:description: The European Space Agency’s Philae lander successfully landed on a comet and is sending signals backs after an early mishap. og:url: https://time.com/3583367/comet-probe-landed-successfully-scientists-say/ og:site_name: TIME og:image: https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/bltc06b80129b357878/698768600b72e314976dbdfc/philae-comet-67p-rosetta.jpg?branch=production&width=807&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=16:9 og:image:width: 807 og:image:height: 454 og:image:alt: ROLIS's (Rosetta Lander Imaging System) first photo of Comet 67P, taken as Philae lander approached its touchdown on the comet's surface. og:type: article twitter:card: summary_large_image twitter:title: Philae Comet Probe Landed Successfully and Sending Signals to Rosetta twitter:description: The European Space Agency’s Philae lander successfully landed on a comet and is sending signals backs after an early mishap. twitter:image: https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/bltc06b80129b357878/698768600b72e314976dbdfc/philae-comet-67p-rosetta.jpg?branch=production&width=807&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=16:9 ---  # Comet Probe Landed Successfully, Scientists Say > Sponsored content. 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It reaches 40,000 subscribers with a 34.2% open rate and a 2.1% click rate as of August 2026. #### Where can I follow the energy transition as a business story? Future Proof covers climate and energy as an economic and business story rather than only an environmental one. It publishes every Friday and is free at time.com/newsletters. #### Who writes Future Proof? Justin Worland, a senior correspondent at TIME and an award-winning climate journalist, writes Future Proof. #### Is Future Proof free? Yes. Future Proof is free at time.com/newsletters.  by [Noah Rayman](https://time.com/author/noah-rayman/)  ## Noah Rayman Nov 13, 2014 1:59 PM UTC  This image shows comet 67P/CG and was acquired by the ROLIS instrument on the Philae lander during descent on Nov. 12, 2014, 14:38:41 UT from a distance of approximately 3 km from the surface. This image shows comet 67P/CG and was acquired by the ROLIS instrument on the Philae lander during descent on Nov. 12, 2014, 14:38:41 UT from a distance of approximately 3 km from the surface. ESA/Rosetta/Philae/ROLIS/DLR/H  by [Noah Rayman](https://time.com/author/noah-rayman/)  ## Noah Rayman Nov 13, 2014 1:59 PM UTC The European Space Agency’s Philae lander successfully landed on a comet and is sending signals backs after an early mishap, scientists said at a news conference in Germany Thursday. The lander, dropped [from the Rosetta spacecraft](http://www.esa.int/Our%5FActivities/Space%5FScience/Rosetta) on Wednesday after a 4-billion mile, 10-year journey, became the first craft to make a soft landing on a comet. But the lander initially failed to fire anchoring harpoons into the surface of the comet, which has very weak gravity, and it bounced three times before coming to an awkward stop in a still undetermined area of the comet, said Stephan Ulamec, the lander project manager. Some instruments are up and running, but the scientists are wary of activating others because the lander is not anchored into the ground and risks rising up again, Ulamec said. Only two of the craft’s three feet are touching the ground. Based on images relayed back, the scientists believe that the lander is partially in a shadow of a cliff, reducing the amount of solar energy that the lander can collect. “We are in a shadow permanently, and that’s part of our problem,” said Jean-Pierre Bibring, the lead lander scientist. ### See the Rosetta Spacecraft's Best Photos of Comet 67P  This image shows comet 67P/CG and was acquired by the ROLIS instrument on the Philae lander during descent on Nov. 12, 2014, 14:38:41 UT from a distance of approximately 3 km from the surface. ESA/Rosetta/Philae/ROLIS/DLR/H  A 'selfie' composite image from a camera on the Rosetta mission’s Philae comet lander shows Comet 67P. ESA/Rosetta/NAVCAM  Comet 67P on Oct. 28, 2014. ESA/Rosetta/NAVCAM  Comet 67P in a photo released on Aug. 6, 2014. ESA/Rosetta/NAVCAM  Comet 67P on Sept. 26, 2014. ESA/Rosetta/NAVCAM  Comet 67P on Oct. 18, 2014 ESA/Rosetta/NAVCAM  Comet 67P on Nov. 4, 2014. ESA/Rosetta/NAVCAM  Comet 67P on Aug. 3, 2014. 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