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Philae Becomes First Spacecraft Ever To Land On A Comet

While moviegoers are watching Matthew McConaughey fly into the bowels of a giant fictional wormhole, scientists in reality are making a huge leap in the quest to understand our final frontier.

This morning, the European Space Agency (ESA) landed what is now the first spacecraft ever to touch down on a comet.

In August, the unmanned craft Rosetta became the first to be put into orbit around a comet.

Now, 10 years after launching, Rosetta sent its smaller 220-pound probe Philae on a course for the surface of the comet 67P/C-G.

Veteran space reporter Kelly Beatty spoke with Here & Now’s Robin Young and Sacha Pfeiffer from ESA’s headquarters in Germany about the landing.

Guest

Copyright 2021 NPR. To see more, visit https://www.npr.org.

Rosetta’s OSIRIS narrow-angle camera captured this parting shot of the Philae lander after separation.(ESA)
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Rosetta’s OSIRIS narrow-angle camera captured this parting shot of the Philae lander after separation.(ESA)
Image of Comet 67P/Churyumov-Gerasimenko from the ESA website. (ESA)
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Image of Comet 67P/Churyumov-Gerasimenko from the ESA website. (ESA)
The image released by the ESA on Wednesday, Nov. 12, 2014 shows Rosetta controllers in the control center in Darmstadt, Germany,  celebrating after the  Philae lander has separated from ESA's Rosetta orbiter and started its descent to the surface of comet 67P/Churyumov-Gerasimenko. (Juergen Mai/AP via ESA)
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The image released by the ESA on Wednesday, Nov. 12, 2014 shows Rosetta controllers in the control center in Darmstadt, Germany, celebrating after the Philae lander has separated from ESA's Rosetta orbiter and started its descent to the surface of comet 67P/Churyumov-Gerasimenko. (Juergen Mai/AP via ESA)
A visual description of how Philae landed on  Comet 67P/Churyumov–Gerasimenko from the ESA's website. (ESA)
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A visual description of how Philae landed on Comet 67P/Churyumov–Gerasimenko from the ESA's website. (ESA)
The image shows comet 67P/CG 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. (European Space Agency)
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The image shows comet 67P/CG 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. (European Space Agency)

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