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The best photos from the Rosetta mission’s comet landing

by Susannah Locke
Updated
CNES
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Philae’s historic comet landing
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Update: Day two news and photos from the Philae mission

philae eye view

A composite of six images taken by Philae on the comet. (ESA)

Today, humankind landed a spacecraft on a comet for the first time. Here’s why it’s such a big deal. And here’s some of the greatest images from this amazing achievement, which we’ll continue to update:

For more about the mission, here’s our video that explains it in three minutes:

The spacecraft, Philae, was carried to the comet by a larger probe named Rosetta. Here’s a pic that Philae took of Rosetta en route to comet 67P/C-G.

And here’s a pic that Rosetta took of the Philae lander as it went to the comet:

And here’s the celebration from the European Space Agency, which was in charge of the mission:

Philae later started sending back images from its descent:

More celebration!

Rosetta mission scientist Matt Taylor’s tattoo got a lot of attention:

The comet is quite large, but not nearly as large as a planet like Mars (or Earth, for that matter):

See More:

More in: Philae’s historic comet landing

Philae is still lost on a comet. The Rosetta probe might go search for it.Philae is still lost on a comet. The Rosetta probe might go search for it.
The Rosetta probe discovered that comet 67P/C-G is light as a corkThe Rosetta probe discovered that comet 67P/C-G is light as a cork
Two months later, scientists still can’t locate the Philae landerTwo months later, scientists still can’t locate the Philae lander

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