Philae (spacecraft)

Illustration of Philae

Philae (before known as RoLand) is an ESA lander spacecraft. It went with the Rosetta spacecraft. It landed on comet 67P/Churyumov–Gerasimenkoon on 12 November 2014 to analyze it.

The name Philae was chosen through a contest organized by ESA, won by fifteen year old Serena Olga Vismara from Milan. The name comes from the orbiter name, already defined as Rosetta, which is the name of the stele that allowed Jean-François Champollion to understand ancient Egypt hieroglyphics. In order to complete the translation, he needed to use also the monuments on the island of Philae, the same way Philae lander will help to complete the work of the Rosetta lander.

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Philae (spacecraft) Media

Landing on a Comet - The Rosetta Mission
Depiction of Philae on Churyumov-Gerasimenko
Rosetta signal received at ESOC in Darmstadt, Germany (20 January 2014)
Philae's intended landing site Agilkia (Site J)
Comet Churyumov–Gerasimenko in March 2015 as imaged by Rosetta in true colour
Rosetta and Philae
Philae's instruments