The European Space robot Philae made history last November when landing on a comet after separating from Rosetta. However, it has not communicated with the Earth from last July 9 and that worries scientists.
“The scan module may have moved,” said the German Aerospace Center (DLR) in a statement. He added that “a minimal change of position could mean that their antennae were now clogged.”
The size of a washing machine, the robot Philae is perched on comet 67P / Churyumov-Gerasimenko since landing on November 12. Philae reached last year to transmit pictures and data from the surface of the celestial body about 4 km in diameter, before falling asleep without power.
But back to “wake up” in June and since then tries to keep in touch with him through European probe Rosetta , accompanying the comet as it approaches the Sun to reach its perihelion or closest point on August 13 .
See also:. The Rosetta spacecraft will be active for longer and perform dangerous tasks
The last contact with the robot It occurred on July 9 and has since remained mired in worrying silence. The space center in Cologne (Germany) “has worked hard to restore contact with the module and do conduct scientific operations”
See also:. Europe wants to build a village in the Moon.
However, scientists fear that “ Philae has been moved and their antennae have been hidden or changed their orientation” said the project manager, Stephan Ulamec. “We have some concerns regarding this,” said spokeswoman DLR, Manuela Braun. “We are trying to understand,” said
The problem is that any movement of Philae can worsen your situation.
It’s like having a car that is parked. We do not know exactly how it is parked, we can not see it up close, but we have to handle it, “said Braun.
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