

Did Philae graze a crater rim during its first bounce? - kartikkumar
http://blogs.esa.int/rosetta/2014/11/28/did-philae-graze-a-crater-rim-during-its-first-bounce/

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xenophonf
Considering how many times I've bounced, rolled, and/or crashed a lander in
Kerbal Space Program, I am totally impressed that:

a - They managed to complete most of the primary science mission!

b - They have all of this ancillary data that they think they can use to
pinpoint Philae on the comet.

c - They think there's a good chance that the probe will start working again.

d - They got this far by uploading pre-programmed command sequences to a
device around 1600 light-seconds away, so no real-time control whatsoever.

That little video game has really increased the amount of respect I have for
the scientists and engineers who run these missions. The disappointing state
that Philae is currently in is itself an _incredible_ achievement.

~~~
kartikkumar
It really is a fantastic feat of engineering. I've witnessed it at close-
range, over the last few months. Over a number of years, I've come across
folks working on an array of missions that literally _blow my mind_ (e.g.,
Cassini-Huygens, New Horizons, MESSENGER). The Mars Curiosity rover is another
example of insane engineering. Yes it was over budget, yes there were many
technical difficulties (e.g., the wear on the tyres), but landing using the
sky-crane absolutely deserves to be heralded as a fantastic feat of
engineering.

I haven't played KSP myself, but I'm glad to hear that it's providing gameplay
that offers insights into the fundamental difficulties of operating in space.
I'm going to be leading a project from January to study and simulate on-orbit
proximity operations to actively remove discarded rocket bodies in Low-Earth
Orbit using a robotic arm. There's so much prep work that goes into missions
like these; I wish we scientists & engineers did a better job of communicating
the challenges faced and the innovative solutions that are thought up. I have
had the pleasure of working with colleagues who amaze me time and again.

So now, keep your fingers crossed for Hayabusa [1] in a couple of days. If
only we could sustain the excitement, motivation, and sheer wonder that these
missions create, the budget for space exploration and planetary science
wouldn't have to keep shrinking.

[1]
[http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hayabusa_2](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hayabusa_2)

~~~
madaxe_again
KSP is excellent. Sure, there's no time lag or relativistic effects, but it is
_hard_ , insofar as you have to understand staging (tsiolkovsky!), thrust
vectoring, and orbital mechanics. So, so satisfying executing a perfect
Hohmann transfer, off the cuff, as precipitation is for suckers.

If you enjoy the idea of space travel even slightly, and like the idea of
having a semi-earnest crack at it - I can't recommend KSP enough.

You get the full joy and frustration of sending a multi-probe mothership to
Jupiter, using angular momentum to fling your subassemblies off, only to find
that you fitted your landing struts upside down, and having to improv a
"landing" using the fuel you'd planned to get home with to touch down. Then
explode.

------
udev
I had the same interpretation of the landing, about 10 days ago.

 _" My guess is that Philae landed tumble-weed style, jumping, and rolling
until it hit a wall, in this case, the cliff that shadows it."_
[https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=8619347](https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=8619347)

For me this was the most likley scenario, based on the photos they provided,
and the final position.

