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 The lander, called Philae, surprised scientists at the weekend by
waking up and sending a signal to Earth. Its historic landing on
comet 67P/Churyumov-Gerasimenko in November was marred when it
bounced into a position too shadowy to power its solar panels.
With the comet moving closer to the sun, scientists hope Philae will
be able to generate enough power to resume its pre-programmed
experiments.
But in order to receive the data, Rosetta will have to get closer to
the comet -- to an orbit of about 180 km (112 miles) compared with
about 220-240 km now.
That is a risky move as the comet approaches the nearest point of
its orbit to the sun on Aug. 13 and throws off dust that could block
the equipment Rosetta uses to orient itself.
 "The comet is a very, very active object at the moment, it's a bit
as if you were to imagine taking your car through a snowstorm," Elsa
Montagnon, Rosetta deputy flight director at the European Space
Agency, told a press briefing at the Paris air show on Wednesday.
"We reckon it should be safe but as soon as we see activity coming
back we may have to retreat further," Montagnon added.
Scientists hope samples drilled from the roughly 3-by-5 km comet by
Philae will unlock details about how the planets -- and possibly
even life -- evolved. The rock and ice that make up comets preserve
ancient organic molecules like a time capsule.
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The plan is to start with the least risky experiments, such as using
instruments to "sniff" the atmosphere before moving the lander and
drilling into the surface to analyze samples, probably over the next
months, rather than weeks, said Philippe Gaudron, Philae project
manager.
Had it landed in the chosen spot, Philae would have been out of
action by now as temperatures in its surroundings would have been
too high for its systems to work, Jean-Pierre Bibring, Philae lead
scientist, told the briefing.
"Thanks to the shadow, we have the capability now to wake up and
have a very long-term activity. Now we are in a position not only to
wake up but to resume science to an extent that might go beyond our
expectations," he said.
Funding for the Rosetta project is secure until the end of the year,
but the team has asked for an extension to September 2016, at which
point they will let Rosetta spiral toward the comet, taking pictures
as it goes, until it ultimately collides with it.
(Editing by Mark Potter)
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