Comet Drill Data Could Be Lost

The European Space Agency’s Philae robot may not have sufficient power to send data from its groundbreaking comet drill back to earth.

“We are not sure there is enough energy so that we can transmit,” said lander manager Stephan Ulamec at a press conference in Darmstadt, Germany, Agence-France Presse reports.

The unmanned robot landed on the 67P/Churyumov-Gerasimenko comment, becoming the first ever human landing on a comet. The probe successfully transmitted images but may not have the battery power to send results from a drill. The probe’s solar powered battery is in the shade of a cliff, giving it just 1.5 hours of sunlight a day, which isn’t enough to replenish the battery.

[AFP]