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  1. Hj Hornbeck says

    Latest word was that they were able to tilt the lander a fair bit. No hops, though, and worse still it’s out of contact for the next half day. Worst of all, they need to hit a minimum level of sunlight to even charge the battery (IIRC, see Lakdewalla), so it’s quite likely we just heard Philae’s last words.

    But, good news: those solar panels were slapped on Philae at the last minute. It was never intended to survive beyond now, so all the core science that could be done is done and at mission control. If the “near” pass to the sun revives little Philae, it’s just a surprise visit from an old friend.

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