[Research Article] The landing(s) of Philae and inferences about comet surface mechanical properties

The Philae lander, part of the Rosetta mission to investigate comet 67P/Churyumov-Gerasimenko, was delivered to the cometary surface in November 2014. Here we report the precise circumstances of the multiple landings of Philae, including the bouncing trajectory and rebound parameters, based on engineering data in conjunction with operational instrument data. These data also provide information on the mechanical properties (strength and layering) of the comet surface. The first touchdown site, Agilkia, appears to have a granular soft surface (with a compressive strength of 1 kilopascal) at least ~20 cm thick, possibly on top of a more rigid layer. The final landing site, Abydos, has a hard surface. Authors: Jens Biele, Stephan Ulamec, Michael Maibaum, Reinhard Roll, Lars Witte, Eric Jurado, Pablo Muñoz, Walter Arnold, Hans-Ulrich Auster, Carlos Casas, Claudia Faber, Cinzia Fantinati, Felix Finke, Hans-Herbert Fischer, Koen Geurts, Carsten Güttler, Philip Heinisch, Alain Herique, Stubbe Hviid, Günter Kargl, Martin Knapmeyer, Jörg Knollenberg, Wlodek Kofman, Norbert Kömle, Ekkehard Kührt, Valentina Lommatsch, Stefano Mottola, Ramon Pardo de Santayana, Emile Remetean, Frank Scholten, Klaus J. Seidensticker, Holger Sierks, Tilman Spohn

from Science: Current Issue
http://www.sciencemag.org/content/349/6247/aaa9816.abstract?rss=1

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