Click to Enlarge. (Photo Credit: ESA/Rosetta/MPS for OSIRIS Team MPS/UPD/LAM/IAA/SSO/INTA/UPM/DASP/IDA)

Scientists at the European Space Agency have just released a mosaic of photos showing the ill-fated touchdown and tumble of the Philae comet lander. The collage was captured from about 10 miles away by the OSIRIS narrow-angle camera on board the Rosetta spacecraft that carried Philae out to comet C-G.

The series of shots shows the hearty lander drifting slowly toward the shade of a giant cliff, bounding unanchored across the low-gravity comet.

Last week the Philae lander made history not only by being the first man-made object to touch down on a comet, but also by taking perhaps the longest leap in history. Because of a dual failure with its anchoring harpoons and descent thruster, the lander recoiled upon impact in a two-hour long jump and several smaller hops. Unluckily, this series of bounds deposited the solar-powered lander in the shade of a giant cliff, where it could not recharge its batteries.

While the engineers and scientists at the ESA have a general idea of where Philae now sits, these exciting photos may help the researchers pinpoint the robots exact location. That's important, because the scientists and engineers at ESA may soon be able to say if the little lander will soon (or ever) receive enough sunlight to power back on.

Expect news shortly. along with the photos, the ESA has announced that it is confident these images, combined with other data, "will soon reveal the lander's whereabouts."

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