--- title: Comet Lander Philae's Battery Might Die Soon description: The space probe is not getting enough sunlight after landing in the shadow of a cliff on the surface of comet 67P/Churyumov-Gerasimenko. canonical: https://time.com/3585141/comet-lander-philae-battery-67pchuryumov-gerasimenko/ author: Rishi Iyengar article:opinion: false article:content_tier: free article:published_time: 2014-11-14T08:34:55.000Z article:modified_time: 2026-05-11T05:07:03.719Z article:section: Science og:title: Philae's Battery May Die Soon og:description: The comet probe isn't getting enough light to recharge og:url: https://time.com/3585141/comet-lander-philae-battery-67pchuryumov-gerasimenko/ og:site_name: TIME og:image: https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blt0a61a198a3061fce/698768ba0b72e3d0916dbe95/458901672.jpg?branch=production&width=3840&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=16:9 og:image:width: 1200 og:image:height: 675 og:image:alt: ESA Attempts To Land Probe On Comet og:type: article twitter:card: summary_large_image twitter:title: Philae's Battery May Die Soon twitter:description: The comet probe isn't getting enough light to recharge twitter:image: https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blt0a61a198a3061fce/698768ba0b72e3d0916dbe95/458901672.jpg?branch=production&width=3840&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=16:9 ---  # Comet Lander Philae's Battery Might Die Soon ## Video: Why The First Comet Landing Matters [Watch (HLS stream): Why The First Comet Landing Matters](https://cdn.jwplayer.com/manifests/WaAkw0PP.m3u8) (0:56)  _Published 2014-11-12. This space mission may be the most informative one yet_ by [Rishi Iyengar](https://time.com/author/rishi-iyengar/) ## Rishi Iyengar Nov 14, 2014 8:34 AM UTC  The surface of the 67P/Churyumov-Gerasimenko comet as seen from the Philae lander. The surface of the 67P/Churyumov-Gerasimenko comet as seen from the Philae lander.European Space Agency by [Rishi Iyengar](https://time.com/author/rishi-iyengar/) ## Rishi Iyengar Nov 14, 2014 8:34 AM UTC After becoming the first spacecraft to successfully land on a comet, European robot probe Philae may be in danger of [running out of battery power](http://www.bbc.com/news/science-environment-30034060). The unmanned probe is successfully transmitting images but is about a kilometer away from its intended location on the comet 67P/Churyumov-Gerasimenko, after some [landing trouble](http://time.com/3583367/comet-probe-landed-successfully-scientists-say/) saw it settle in the shadow of a cliff. As a result, the probe is only receiving 1.5 hours of sunlight for every 12-hour rotation of the comet, which is not nearly enough to replenish its battery once the primary 60-hour charge is over. “We have estimations right now that go between Friday afternoon and Saturday afternoon,” the European Space Agency’s Paolo Ferri told the _BBC_, referencing how long Philae is expected to remain operational in its current state. “The more activities we do with the lander, the more power we will consume, and the less time we will have,” he said. Given the difficulty of moving the probe into sunlight in the time available, scientists are now focused on gathering as much data as they can from the comet’s surface. ### 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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