The fantastic decade-long mission of the ESA's Rosetta robotic space probe, chasing Comet 67P/Churyumov-Gerasimenko, reached its final goal on Wednesday, as the Philae robotic lander detached from its mothership and landed on the target, reports GHN based on RT.
"We definitely confirm that the lander is on the surface,'' said flight director Andrea Accomazzo.
The confirming signal broke a seven-hour silence and sparked scenes of elation at the European Space Agency's (ESA) mission control center in Darmstadt.
"We are the first to have done that, and that will stay forever!" said ESA's Director General J-J Dordain
Gripped by suspense the scientists and the whole world waited for 28 minutes and 20 seconds for a signal from Philae, retranslated by Rosetta's antennas, to travel 510 million km reach the control station on Earth after the probe landed.
However, Philae's harpoons were not fired. Rosetta's team is currently trying to determine the reasons why.
The scientific mission on the surface will last 64 hours, before its batteries die out. The probe also has solar panels, yet this power source is unreliable since the comet's environment is very dusty.