Would You Fire Up the Drill?

Well, consequence of failure might be the end of the mission.

Pretty big gamble. I'm with you; postpone the drill sampling.

But (at this writing) the ESA hasn't called to ask me.

I guess they will need old Bruce on that.

It's pretty interesting though, now they manage to achieve it like the movie.

There are several factors that must be known to make an informed decision.

• Are the batteries net draining or charging with the partial sunlight the craft is getting from the depression it sits in? This might limit the choice to drill now or never.
• How pivotal to this research project is taking a drilling sample? Taking pictures of the comet does not require contact with the comet. Taking a core sample does require contact.
• What other experiments can be performed without drilling and how valuable are they to the project?
• Can Philae be made more secure before drilling?

As I said, these and probably other questions must be known and discussed before making an informed, correct choice. With what I know, I say start drilling. You've gone to far to not try.

http://www.gizmag.com/philae-status/34748/?utm_source=Gizmag+Subscribers&utm_campaign=a5e174b1c8-UA-2235360-4&utm_medium=email&utm_term=0_65b67362bd-a5e174b1c8-90360106

I say even part of a mission is better than having the lander laying on its back.

Isn't it 3 legs?

Four

Huh ? Is it male ?

I thought it had 3 legs. What extra bit are you including ? In any case, each leg has 2 'foot screws'. I'm running with 6 as the answer.

Got ya ta look, yes.

Yeah, but I still want to know if it's referred to as 'he' or 'she'.

Diagram of Philae (Image; ESA)

Take shallow samples? I did not know they were planning on getting the probe back to earth to analyze the samples or is that something they can do remotely to a great enough effect.

I would recommend waiting for a full battery charge, then perhaps try that last harpoon again with a full boost and see if it seats the probe better. Then drill.

This reminds me of the 3 penguins in the animated movie Madagascar. When they finally arrived on their block of ice in Antarctica and bumped their ship into an iceberg, they collectively reflected..."well, this sucks". Then the next scene we see them sitting on tropical beach getting a sun tan...that was funny.

If it does come back to earth, I hope it leaves the comet behind...

not return them, process on site

As I understand, the samples would be analyzed in situ.

Full battery charge is not likely in the present position.

mass spectrometer to perform analysis of soil

Well I just heard on the news...They fired up the drill and soon lost contact. That is a bummer, maybe the probe is on the way back to earth already...depending on which direction it fell off the comet. Hopefully it is just dead batteries that may be recharged when they get out of the shade...

Massey, see Post #8. The probe isn't returning anything, including itself. It's doing the analysis in-situ, whilst it sits there, permanently. It is to transmit its findings to Earth, not bring back physical samples.

14 min ago:

"Scientists have begun activating a drill and hammer on board the robotic comet probe Philae in an attempt to move it into sunlight so that its solar panels can be charged.

"Time is running out for the European Space Agency's lander. Since its bumpy triple touchdown on Wednesday, the spacecraft has been resting on its side, lodged in the shadows of a cliff or large boulder."

http://www.theguardian.com/science/2014/nov/14/philae-comet-lander-drills-hammers-rosetta

personally I think this is the work of aliens, their version of getting their kicks by tipping cows over

I would think the priority here is to get the panels in the light....I would still try the harpoon on a sunny patch of rock....

No! (Newton's 3rd Law) firing the harpoon might launch the whole shebang back into space.

What no thrusters....? Maybe the harpoon is self powered, like a little rocket....

No thrusters for maneuvering once landed.

Yep. GAs on both counts (your post, above, and #3).

If they pulse the on/off switch so the drill spins at half speed and is pushed into the ground at half pressure it might not launch itself back up again.

Use the drill to push it back out into the sunlight!

They did drill into the comet....

"Rosetta's lander, called Philae, failed to anchor itself as planned on the comet's body, causing it to bounce and reland at about 1 km (.62 mile) away from its original target.

Photos and other data later relayed by Philae indicate it is trapped in shadow, suggesting it ended up by a cliff wall or inside a crater. With battery power dwindling, scientists sent commands for Philae to attempt to use its drill to obtain samples from the comet's body.

Those results were still pending, but on Friday Philae made a belated radio call via the orbiting Rosetta mothership, reporting that its drill successfully operated.

"First comet drilling is a fact!" ESA posted on Twitter Friday night.

Scientists also decided to attempt to reposition the lander so its solar panels could recharge.

"Just started lifting myself up a little and will now rotate to try and optimize the solar power," ESA said on the Philae lander Twitter feed.

One of the most important tasks for the 100-kg (220-pound) probe was to obtain samples from inside the comet for chemical analysis.

Comets are believed to be pristine remnants from the formation of our solar system some 4.6 billion years ago. They contain rock and ice that have preserved ancient organic molecules like a time capsule and may provide insight into how the planets and life evolved.

Philae's drill descended more than 25 centimetres (10 inches) on Friday, penetrating the comet's surface."

http://in.reuters.com/article/2014/11/15/space-comet-idINKCN0IZ02P20141115

The lander is now in sleep mode.....they have tried to hop the lander into a better position with the landing gear....probably will know better tomorrow am....

http://www.belfasttelegraph.co.uk/news/local-national/uk/comet-lander-philae-asleep-30746838.html

I guess I would decide on a "what have we got to lose" approach.

Knowing just about nothing of the options, I would say do nothing except take action to get the batteries charged.

But if deep samples are required, and I guess that is an absolutely critical part of the mission, then get them while you can before the batteries run out.

As an aside to the problem, could the impact of landing and drilling etc, deflect the comet from it's course? Even if only microns of a degree?

I'm inclined to agree. We've all heard about how the thing is stuck and unable to get enough solar power, but I've not heard if there is any chance that as the comet moves (physical translation/rotation) if it may get enough light to boost it's power.

Last I read, samples have been taken, and data sent back is being analyzed right now. The samples are from an order of inches below the surface, but that is enough to answer some crucial questions. If they detect amino-acids then the ramifications are huge. We may not know ET's phone number, but we will know he is likely out there. Statistics say 'yes', but this will be almost proof evident. It also answers the big one - where did we come from.

Whatever data is found or not, this project has been a mind blowing success. I watched the whole Armsrong/moon stuff in wide eyed awe. This may not have the glam of people there, but in science and engineering terms this is an 'I remember that' occasion. Just think about it - a lump of icey/whatever, a huge distance away, it's moving very fast and tumbling as it goes. To even get a probe into synchronos orbit is amazing. To land the thing in what is effectively zero g beggers belief. On top of that, date has been recieved and is being analyzed.

Even if things stop right now, the project has broken so many records as to put it off the charts. I'm in no way jingoistic about it, but if NASA had not bailed on the project I wonder how much more could have been done. Hardly NASA's fault that their purse strings were cut, but had they been more involved it would have inspired so many youngsters to get involved with science and engineering. No hostile intent, but I hope that ESA's success will be as much a wake up call as Sputnik was back in the day.

I shall now run and hide in case anybody misconstrues my meaning.