ESA's Philae lander bounced twice after landing and finally came to rest about a kilometer away from its target spot on Comet 67P/Churyumov-Gerasimenko.

Philae's current location only allows few hours of illumination from sunlight. If this continues, the lander's batteries might soon run out of power.

Like Us on Facebook

The Philae robotic probe is a lander from the European Space Agency. It landed on Comet 67P/Churyumov-Gerasimenko, which is circling the sun, last November 12.

The goal of the Rosetta mission is successfully attach Philae to the comet and acquire information about the comet's composition.

The robot probe is currently in the shadow of a cliff. The probe needs sufficient sunlight to recharge its batteries using its solar panels.

In its current state, it only receives one and a half hours of illumination instead of the required seven hours. Moving the lander to spot with more light will be a very risky move.

Conducting heavier activities like hopping or drilling will only consume more power. The lander's primary will last for about 60 hours. After that, the probe will hibernate.

At present, the lander team is focusing on acquiring information without consuming too much power. This is a strategy intended to preserve more battery power for the rest of the mission.

The lander team established a stable signal and successfully received pictures of the comet surface. The mission has yet to obtain samples of materials from the comet surface for analysis.

If no further action regarding the power supply is taken, the lander's batteries are expected to completely run out by Saturday.

Whether the mission can access a more stable power supply is yet to be confirmed.

Whatever happens next, Philae and its team have already made a perfect landing in the history books.

This mission could answer some of our biggest questions about the Solar System and the universe. Yet the chances of discovering these answers are stuck under a cliff buried in the shadows.

Tagsphilae lander, rosetta, european space agency, comet 67P, solar system, Space