Philae was a robotic lander built by a European consortium for the European Space Agency and carried to Comet 67P/Churyumov-Gerasimenko by the Rosetta spacecraft. Rosetta was launched in early 2004 on a ten-year journey through the inner solar system, and in November 2014 Philae was released and became the first probe to land on the surface of a comet. Its harpoons failed to fire, and it bounced twice before coming to rest in a shaded spot where its solar panels received little light. It sent back data for about two and a half days before its battery ran out, and made a brief contact again in 2015. It was found in images in 2016, wedged in a crevice.
Before and after
- 30 January 2004Release of Ukrainian Wikipedia
- 4 February 2004Founding of Facebook
- 10 February 2004Release of Flickr
- 28 February 2004Creation of Deepin
- 2 March 2004Launch of Philae
- 2 March 2004Launch of Rosetta
- 11 March 20042004 Madrid train bombings
- 16 March 2004Insurgency in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa
- April 2004Carbon dioxide passes 380 ppm at Mauna Loa
More in Universe & space
- 22 October 1969Discovery of 67P/Churyumov–Gerasimenko
- 30 September 1975Discovery of Themisto
- 24 May 1981Discovery of Larissa
- 22 August 1981Discovery of Pan
- 18 September 1989Discovery of Naiad
- 26 June 2012Discovery of Styx
The era
This moment belongs to the Contemporary world (1945 CE to today), the world since 1945. You can also browse everything in the 21st century.