REAL LIFE NEWS: GROUND CONTROL GIVES UP ON PHILAE
by Hazed
The Philae lander, which bounced onto the surface of Comet 67P in November 2014, has been officially declared dead.
The German Aerospace Center (DLR) has said that the lander is probably covered in dust now, and too cold to function.
"Unfortunately, the probability of Philae re-establishing contact with our team at the DLR Lander Control Center is almost zero, and we will no longer be sending any commands," said Stephan Ulamec, the lander's project manager at DLR.
The last contact with the probe was last July. The comet is now heading away from the sun, into the colder part of its orbit. It has plunged to temperatures below -180C – and the lander was never designed to operate in such conditions.
So farewell Philae.
Source: http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/science-environment-35559503
