On 12 November 2014, after a ten year journey through the Solar System and over 500 million kilometres from home, Rosetta’s lander Philae made space exploration history by touching down on a comet for the first time. On the occasion of the tenth anniversary of this extraordinary feat, we celebrate Philae’s impressive achievements at Comet 67P/Churyumov-Gerasimenko.
Decisions, decisions
Rosetta arrived at the comet on 6 August 2014, and the race was immediately on to find a suitable landing site for its lander Philae.
The site needed to offer a balance of safety and unique science potential. Rosetta’s images of candidate landing sites were scrutinised and debated, and within a few weeks the final choice was made: a smooth-looking patch, later named Agilkia, located on the smaller of the comet’s two lobes.