On a comet 10 years away, Probe Philae conks out, maybe for good

Summary

This wednesday morning, a probe named the Philae landed on a comet. The journey took ten years, and was almost executed perfectly. The Philae was supposed to land on a part of the comet that got 7 hours of sunlight per day, but it landed in a part that only got 1.5 hours of sunlight per day - not enough to power the rechargeable batteries on the probe. The information that would have been transmitted back to us was very important because comets are very old, and hold information key to the creation of the universe. There is still hope; the probe is only in hibernation, and if the scientists can find a way to get light on the solar panels, the mission may be saved.

Analysis

I think that it was a huge success just getting the probe on the comet. It shows how far technology has come. Even if they are not able to get the probe running, they still got valuable information from the experiment, and showed us what we need to change to get it right next time. If I was part of the experiment I would be happy with the results because it is a huge accomplishment to get something so small to land on a comet moving so fast.

http://www.cnn.com/2014/11/14/world/comet-landing/index.html?hpt=wo_r1

Questions

Do you think the mission was a success or a failure?

How do you think they could have made the experiment run smoother?

If you were a scientist in the project would you be angry or happy with the results?