ROSETTA PROBE TOUCHES DOWN ON SPEEDING COMET (STA BREAKING NEWS and ARCHIVES)

by Mother_Of_The_World , Wednesday, November 12, 2014, 11:58

Source: SKY NEWS

Rosetta Probe Touches Down On Speeding Comet

The head of the European Space Agency hails "a big step for human civilisation" as Philae sends signals from the comet surface.

17:02, UK, Wednesday 12 November 2014

The Rosetta mission has successfully landed a probe on a comet moving at 34,000mph in a historic first for space exploration.

Scientists cheered and punched the air in the European Space (ESA) control room when they received confirmation that the Philae lander was sending signals from the comet.

ESA Director-General Jean-Jacques Dordain told a delighted audience: "This is a big step for human civilisation."

Staff at the Lander Control Center 300 million miles away in Cologne said information they were receiving suggested the probe had made a "soft, gentle" landing.

*SNIP*

Scientists in mission control hugged and cheered as the signal came through

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