Rosetta's Philae lander, the first craft to ever land on a comet, ultimately failed to latch itself onto the surface as previously planned because it collided with the side of a crater.

Data from Philae's Rosetta Lander Magnetometer and Plasma Monitor (Romap) enabled researchers to decipher exactly what happened when the lander bounced off the surface of Comet 67P/Churyumov-Gerasimenko

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During the landing, mission planners monitored Rosetta's and Philae's magnetic fields to obtain data. Readings from Philae's motion were determined from changes in the magnetic field direction, said Hans-Ulrich Auster from the Technische Universität Braunschweig and Romap's co-principal investigator.

The new analysis shows Philae successfully separated from Rosetta and rotated once every five minutes. Romap was activated when the landing gear was deployed. For seven hours, the touchdown seemed to go as planned since instruments recorded an initial touchdown at 10:34 a.m. EST.

Romap recorded a sudden increase in the rotational rate of Philae after touchdown, indicating the vehicle bounced off the surface. As this occurred, the lander's flywheel was switched off by control electronics to stabilize the angular momentum to the vehicle.

During the next 40 minutes, the lander spun once every 13 seconds. Philae came to a halt at 11:20 EST on the surface of the comet.

Romap data was consistent with patterns indicating a collision with a crater surface. Auster said Philae probably touched down with only one leg, grazing a crater rim.

The lander tumbled across the surface once every 24 seconds before finally stopping at 12:25 EST. Right now, Philae is in hibernation mode since it's unable to gather solar energy because it came to rest under the deep shadow of a cliff.

Philae may be revived on March 2015 as the comet comes close to the Sun.

TagsPhilae Apparently Hit a Crater During Comet Landing; Initial Touchdown on One Foot, ESA, rosetta probe, philae lander, comet 67P, philae comet landing crater