DLR

Researchers have begun their final manoeuvre to contact the Philae probe, which became unresponsive for more than a year.

The robotic lander nearly crashed on the surface of a comet, which was racing through the Earth’s solar system.

The probe was part of the European Space Agency’s (ESA) Rosetta mission and provided scientific results before crash landing onto the surface of the 67P / Churyumov-Gerasimenko comet.

In July 2015, the German Aerospace Center or DLR received communication from Philae and since then has not been able to contact it.

By the end of January, conditions on 67P / Churyumov-Gerasimenko will not be lander-friendly and Philae’s mission is expected to come to a natural end.

Before ending, engineers and scientists at DLR have decided to send a command to Philae to spin up its flywheel so it can shake off the dust on its solar panels to resume work.

"At best, the spacecraft might shake dust from its solar panels and better align itself with the Sun."

DLR technical project manager Koen Geurts said: "At best, the spacecraft might shake dust from its solar panels and better align itself with the Sun."

The present condition of Philae is not clear due to its longstanding silence.

The DLR team has doubts about one of two radio transmitters and one of the two receivers of the lander has become dysfunctional.

In December, Rosetta spacecraft, which carried the Philae, received a weak signal, but examination of the signal by the mission team showed it was not from Philae.

DLR control room team operations manager Cinzia Fantinati said: "There is a small chance. We want to leave no stone unturned."

Until September, Rosetta will remain active and its communications unit will continue to listen for a signal from Philae.

Nasa and ESA’s member states are involved in the Rosetta mission. The mission’s Philae lander was developed by a DLR-led consortium that includes the Max Planck Institute for Solar System Research (MPS), the French Space Agency (CNES) and the Italian Space Agency (ASI).

Philae is equipped with a dozen instruments and landed on 67P after a ten-year, 6.5bn km journey aboard Rosetta.

Image: The Philae comet lander crashed down onto the surface of 67P / Churyumov-Gerasimenko over a year ago. Photo: courtesy of DLR.