When the Philae landed on 67P, it was supposed to use ice screws to secure itself on the comet's surface. Unfortunately, the screws failed to anchor into the surface, causing an unintentional bounce that left the lander stranded in a ditch.
While Philae has powered down, experts are optimistic that the lander will get a new lease on life as the comet makes its way towards the Sun.
Philae requires sunlight to recharge its batteries but it's not direct exposure that may get the lander out of the ditch. Apparently, as the 67P gets closer to the sun, gas is released from the comet. Experts are hoping that there will be enough of a gas release to propel Philae, pushing the lander out of the ditch.
"It could be a natural way that it gets lifted up. If a little activity starts there, then the chance that it comes off is fairly high," explained Gerhard Schwehm, former Rosetta manager.
The comet's surface had been harder than anticipated, which partly led to the failure of the harpoon landing system on Philae. Schwehm says the incident was a blessing in disguise because had the lander fired its harpoons, there might have been bigger problems.
While unable to move from its location, Philae was unfazed, even hustling for a bit to get itself out of the ditch. It wrapped up its 57-hour mission on 67P's surface on Nov. 15 but not before finishing a series of automated experiments, which included a drilling activity into the comet and radioing back the results of these experiments to Earth.
Before completely shutting down, the Philae also shifted positions in an effort to catch more sunlight through one of its solar panels. As it heads towards the sun aboard the comet, it will be accompanied by the Rosetta satellite.
Philae detached from Rosetta on Nov. 12 to land on the comet, free-falling towards 67P for seven hours. The lander made history for being the first to carry out an independent science mission on a comet.
Like an ever-watchful mother, Rosetta was ready with a camera, capturing Philae's descent to the comet and its subsequent mishap with the harpooning system from less than 10 miles away from 67P's surface.
Early results from the Rosetta's ongoing mission are due to be released in San Francisco next month at the American Geophysical Union's conference.
