Comet landing

[rcjordan]

Wow!  Incomprehensible.

[littleman]

Rosetta had to go 4 billion miles to catch that comet.  The speed and accuracy are incredible.

[Brad]

It does boggle the mind. Well done.

[BoL]

Apparently its harpoons to secure it have failed and the lander bounced back off. They're waiting to see what's going on.

[littleman]

That's too bad, still a hell of an accomplishment.  The images of the comet up close have been incredible.

[BoL]

Seems like nothing fatal happened to their mission. There's some details here
https://newscientist.creatavist.com/rosetta#chapter-132425

[littleman]

Sounds like it bounced around for two hours and ended up in a whole, but it still is getting some sun light to power its solar panels.

[littleman]

Philae: The Biggest Jump Ever

[Rooftop]

Has this been big news in the US?  I always wonder whether european achievements get as much attention over there.

[littleman]

I haven't watched the news on TV in the last several weeks but there has been plenty of web & NPR news about it and my kids learned about it at school, so yes, I think it has been a big deal here.

Also, I've heard Americans use the term "we" when talking about it, like "we've landed on a comet".  We're looking at it as an accomplishment for humanity.

[rcjordan]

>Has this been big news in the US?

Yeah, but I can only comment on US internet as I don't subscribe to any print.

>"We"

That kind of galls me.  I see some threads & headlines which talk about NASA's involvement some, but I guess WE is the humanity angle.  I think this has been a minor 'Sputnik Moment' for the US.  Good for ESA!!

[Brad]

I don't watch US TV news much, but CNN was covering this when I was in McDonalds for breakfast the other day.

I do try and catch Deutche Welle news on TV and their coverage has been good.  There has also been extensive coverage on NPR, Internet and print.

[buckworks]

It's been getting coverage in Canada too, with lots of pictures. If there was "we" wording it didn't sink in.

[littleman]

Just in case you missed the news:
http://www.ibtimes.com/comet-landing-2014-rosetta-probe-philae-discovers-organic-molecules-report-1725228

Philae found an organic compound -- that's a pretty big deal.

[BoL]

wow. panspermia? religions might have a hard time with this.

time for the bookies to pay out on life elsewhere