Now, anyone can hear the historical comet landing of Philae, the robotic probe that's now on the surface of Comet 67P 67P/Churyumov-Gerasimenko.

Listen to the soft landing of the Philae lander here: https://soundcloud.com/dlrde/touchdown-philae-on-comet-67p

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The crunching sound from the thud is apparently the sound Philae made when it came into contact with Comet 67P's surface. Philae is the first spacecraft in history to land on a comet.

The lander's Cometary Acoustic Surface Sounding Experiment (CASSE) instrument recorded a more audible, distinct sound from the soft landing. Philae bounced twice off the surface and settled in the deep shadow of a cliff.

Since sound can't be recorded in the vacuum of space, the sound Philae made emanated from the interior of Philae and not the exterior. The interior of the small space lab is tightly sealed and its instrument chambers are pressurized so molecules can vibrate and produce sound waves.

CASSE's primary mission is to take measurements of Philae's landing legs when they hit the surface and gather data about the comet's surface, said Klaus Seidensticker of the Deutsches Zentrum für Luft-und Raumfahrt (DLR) who monitors the Surface Electric Sounding and Acoustic Monitoring Experiment (SESAME).

Philae landed on a soft layer about seven centimeters thick. The lander's feet encountered the hard, ice-like layer of the comet beneath this layer after a few milliseconds.

This short recording is evidence Philae's intended landing didn't go as planned since there isn't any sound after the first contact.

Martin Knapmeyer, leader of the CASSE Team, said the data determined the second landing didn't occur immediately after the first bounce.

The European Space Agency and the Philae team concluded the lander was gliding near the comet's surface for nearly two hours when audio sensors were silent. The lander bounced once on landing and came to a final halt 3,300 feet from the landing site named Agilkia.

Since its landing, Philae has been trying to conserve energy and acquire solar power to continue its mission.

TagsHear How the First Comet Landing Sounds Like, ESA, rosetta, philae, comet landing, comet 67P, sound of comet landing, hear first comet landing sound