BERLIN (AP) — Mission controllers say a European probe is pushing ahead with efforts to drill into a comet ”“ though they’re still trying to pin down where exactly the probe is.
The Philae lander on Wednesday became the first spacecraft to touch down on a comet and has since sent its first images from the surface of the body, known as 67P/Churyumov-Gerasimenko.
Scientists hope to drill into the comet to extract some of the material buried beneath the surface of the comet. Stephan Ulamec, head of operations for Philae, said in an online briefing Friday that “we have activated the drill.”
However, he said, it isn’t yet clear whether it will succeed in taking samples. Ulamec said controllers haven’t yet been able to identify where exactly on the comet Philae is.
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