The European Space Agency (ESA) will finally bid farewell to its long-silent, sleeping comet lander Philae after months of unsuccessful communication attempts.
On Jan. 10, scientists tried to nudge Philae back to life by transmitting a signal into space. Unfortunately, the comet lander did not respond to the calls and has remained in hibernation.
One month later, the German Aerospace Center (DLR) confirmed that the organization will no longer try to make contact with the comet lander.
The DLR is primarily in-charge of Philae, which was part of ESA's Rosetta mission. The mothership is still orbiting the Comet 67P/Churyumov-Gerasimenko, officials said.
"Unfortunately, the probability of Philae re-establishing contact with our team is almost zero," said Stephan Ulamec, DLR project manager. "We will no longer be sending any commands."
Philae, which has remained silent since July 2015, has already marked its name in history for accomplishing many feats and firsts for humankind. Its achievements have paved the way for future space exploration.
Journalist Manuela Braun, who is working at DLR, said it was the first time that a lander with its instruments landed on a comet, and directly provided data that measured the comet's surface.
Philae detected organic molecules on the comet's surface and sent high-resolution images that allowed scientists to examine the physical properties of the materials.
The comet lander's radar instrument was also able to assess the internal structure of Comet 67P, which is highly porous.
"We expected a comet's surface as soft and fluffy - but learned that it could be very heterogenous," said Braun. "The place where Philae finally came to rest has a very hard surface."
Aside from that, the space probe discovered that the comet lacks a magnetic field, and that the water on comets is not the same as water on Earth's oceans.
However, the conditions on Comet 67P have become hostile for Philae as the comet is veering away from the sun.
Comet 67P is currently 350 million kilometers (217 million miles) away from the Sun, rendering the surface completely frozen even during the day. Night temperatures on the comet plummet to as low as -180 degrees Celsius (-292 degrees Fahrenheit).
Philae is most likely covered in dust, scientists said. The temperatures on the surface is simply too cold for the comet lander to function.
Meanwhile, the Rosetta mission will continue for a few months. The Rosetta spacecraft will eventually join Philae on the surface of the comet in September this year.
