Imagine landing a washing machine on a speeding snowball 300 million miles away—then having it wake up and call you!

The Day a Robot Lander Crashed Into a Comet!

How scientists bounced a washing-machine-sized robot onto a speeding space snowball

A robot lander woke up on a speeding comet after a 7-month nap and called home!

On July 12, 2015, something incredible happened in space—a little robot named Philae woke up after a seven-month nap on a comet!

But wait, let's rewind. Back in November 2014, the European Space Agency did something nobody had ever done before. They landed a spacecraft on a COMET—a giant ball of ice and dust zooming through space at 84,000 miles per hour!

Philae was about the size of a washing machine and traveled for TEN YEARS aboard a spacecraft called Rosetta just to reach Comet 67P. When Philae finally touched down, something unexpected happened—it bounced! Not once, but TWICE! The little lander tumbled across the comet's surface and ended up in a shadowy spot between some cliffs.

Without enough sunlight to power its solar panels, Philae went to sleep. Scientists were worried they'd never hear from their brave little robot again.

💡 Comet 67P smells terrible! Philae discovered it has the scent of rotten eggs, horse poop, and bitter almonds all mixed together. Imagine THAT air freshener!