Scientists have been searching for the Philae lander ever since the robotic probe lost power after landing on Comet 67P in November 2014.
Researchers have been looking at images beamed to Earth by the European Space Agency's Rosetta spacecraft as well as used a variety of data, which include magnetic field and radio wave measurements in an attempt to find the final landing place of Philae.
Now, the scientists' efforts have helped narrow down the probable landing area of the Philae to just one part of the comet.
It is believed that Philae landed in a shady area where there is not enough light to fully charge the spacecraft causing the lander to shut down after 60 hours on the comet's surface.
Based on radio signals sent between the lander and Rosetta, ESA reported that the Philae could be in an ellipse about 16×160 meters long and wide just outside the rim of a large depression on the comet's head known as Hatmehit.
"Combining data on the signal travel time between the two spacecraft with the known trajectory of Rosetta and the current best shape model for the comet, the CONSERT team have been able to establish the location of Philae to within an ellipse roughly 16 x 160 metres in size, just outside the rim of the Hatmehit depression," ESA said.
ESA, however, said that while the ellipse is currently the best estimate of the probable location of the Philae based on a number of simulations, work is still ongoing to quantify the statistical likelihood of the probe inside this region.
The agency also said that the ellipse's location depends on the assumed shaped of comet 67P, which is constantly being refined so there could still be possible revisions of the ellipse's positioning.
Philae's location could also be identified if the lander would receive sufficient solar power to wake it up from its current state of hibernation. Comet 67P is now about 218 million km from the Sun.
The probe could then resume studying the comet and scientists could by then perform additional measurements that could help determine the location of the lander after its bouncy landing on the comet's surface.
Philae still remains in hibernation but scientists are hopeful that it will wake up from its slumber and starts to transmit signal to Rosetta once the comet gets closer to sun in the coming weeks or months.
