ESA / ROSETTA
Revisiting Philae’s Bumpy 2014 Landing on Comet 67P and Its Two-Year Disappearance
The European Space Agency's Philae lander faced a dramatic touchdown on Comet 67P after harpoons failed to fire, leading to a two-year search.
The historic landing of the European Space Agency's Philae probe on Comet 67P remains one of the most dramatic touchdowns in space exploration history. Designed to anchor itself with harpoons upon arrival, the mechanism failed to fire, causing the lander to bounce half a mile back up into space before settling.
Lost from Rosetta orbiter's sight for nearly two years, Philae was eventually spotted wedged inside a dark crevice on the duck-shaped comet, highlighting the unpredictable nature of planetary landing missions.