Probe Lands on Comet In Space First: ESA

The European probe Philae has made the first-ever landing on a comet, a crowning phase in a quest to explore the origins of the Solar System, the European Space Agency (ESA) said on Wednesday.

The robot lab landed on Comet 67P/Churyumov-Gerasimenko around seven hours after separating from its mother ship Rosetta more than 510 million kilometres (320 million miles) from home, it said.

Scientists hope the lander, equipped with 10 instruments, will unlock the secrets of comets — primordial clusters of ice and dust that may have helped sow life on Earth.