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'I'm awake!' Philae comet lander wakes up after seven-month hibernation [i]Seven months after falling silent on the side of a comet, a European probe "woke up" on Saturday (June 13) and began sending data back to Earth. "Hello Rosetta!" the Philae lander exclaimed on Twitter to its parent orbiter and communications relay. "I'm awake!" The first-ever spacecraft to land on a comet, the European Space Agency's (ESA) Philae probe bounced twice before touching down on comet 67P/Churyumov-Gerasimenko on Nov. 12, 2014. Designed to search for water and organics of the type that could have given rise to life on Earth, the probe operated for just about 60 hours before running out of power and entering a hibernation mode as a result of its solar panels being in the shadow of a cliff. Mission managers held out hope that as the comet moved closer to the sun, that Philae would receive more light and be able to resume operations — which apparently is what led to the probe making contact now...[/i]
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