Teaching Kids News - Philae

Read the news article and complete the activities provided in the post.

Philae has woken up.

That is very, very good news. It’s news that scientists around the world were hoping for, and waiting for. And for good reason.

Philae is a spacecraft that was sent on an important mission by scientists at the European Space Agency (ESA) about 10 years ago. It took a decade to reach its destination, an icy comet known as 67P (short for 67P/Churymov-Gerasimenko).

The scientists wanted the Philae to land on the comet and send back information about it. They hoped it might even give them some clues about how our solar system was formed.

But when the Philae landed, it ended up in a shadow on the comet. That’s unfortunate, because it powers itself through a solar panel—which needs sunlight to energize.

Scientists hoped that this summer, when the comet moved closer to the sun, Philae’s solar-powered battery would pick up a bit of energy and it would “wake up.” And on Saturday, June 13 Philae woke up and started sending signals back to Earth for the first time in seven months.

The next day, Sunday, scientists received three, 10-second bursts of communication from Philae.

Now, scientists are working to keep Philae’s battery charging so they can give it enough power to resume its mission—collecting data on the P67 comet.

Some “fast facts” about the mission
10-year journey
Sent from French Guiana on March 2, 2004
European Space Agency (EPA)
Travelling at 84,000 mph
300 million miles away from Earth
Comet: 67P/Churyumov-Gerasimenko
Philae spacecraft, Rosetta “orbiting mothership”
Landed on 67P on November 12, 2014
Battery died November 15, 2014
Woke up June 13, 2015 (seven months)
ESA’s operation centre in Darmstadt, Germany received an 85-second transmission from Philae
Cost of mission: About 1.4 billion Euros

 Related links

Previous TKN article on Philae:
http://teachingkidsnews.com/2014/11/18/1-scientists-hope-philae-will-wake-next-spring/

An excellent article in The Guardian about Philae’s wake-up:
http://www.theguardian.com/science/2015/jun/14/rosetta-mission-hibernating-philae-lander-spacecraft-wakes-up

The Wikipedia page on Philae has detailed information about it:
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Philae_(spacecraft)

FAQs (ESA website):
http://www.esa.int/Our_Activities/Space_Science/Rosetta/Frequently_asked_questions

Choose two of the following activities to complete...

Writing PromptPhilae is named after an obelisk (a monument) in Egypt that helped archaeologists uncover the meaning of ancient Egyptian hieroglyphics. With this in mind, why might have this name been chosen for the space lander?

Reading Prompt: Extending UnderstandingRead one of the linked articles cited below the article. How does reading from two different sources extend your overall understanding of today’s article?

Language Feature: PersonificationPersonification is a literary device used by giving animals, plants, objects, or, even, ideas human characteristics.

Pretend for a moment that Philae were a person.

What type of person might he be? How does the personification of Philae change your response to his mission?

How does personification manipulate the reader?