Philae

Philae
Experimental investigations into the Philae landing.
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Philae
Numerical analyses of the Philae land dynamics.
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The Landing and Exploration Technology department supported the landing of the comet lander "Philae" with experimental investigations and numerical multi-body simulations.

The objectives were to determine the safe operating limits of the landing leg and shock absorber system and to characterize the resulting landing dynamics in interaction with other system components and the expected geotechnical properties of the comet's surface.

The work was carried out in 2013 and 2014 and incorporated into the landing preparations and landing site selection.

June 15, 2015

Nocturnal contact with Philae

The Philae lander reported back on 14 June 2015. From 23:22 to 23:26 CEST, the lander sent some data packets that are now being evaluated at the German Aerospace Center (Deutsches Zentrum für Luft- und Raumfahrt; DLR). "But this time, the connection to the lander was relatively unstable," says DLR Philae Lander Project Leader Stephan Ulamec.

January 8, 2016

New command for Philae

The last clear sign of life was received from Philae, the Rosetta mission's comet lander, on 9 July 2015; since then, it has remained silent. Now, Comet 67P/Churyumov-Gerasimenko is moving away from the Sun and the temperature on the comet's surface and the amount of sunlight are both decreasing.

August 8, 2016

Rosetta, Philae and comet fever

It's hard to say what surprised scientists and engineers the most during the Rosetta mission: the unusual form of Comet 67P/Churyumov-Gerasimenko that earned it the nickname 'Rubber Duck'? The bizarre, unexpectedly varied landscape with fissures, terraces, crevasses, steep cliffs and even dune-like structures?

Contact

Dr. Lars Witte

German Aerospace Center (DLR)
Institute of Space Systems