Philae probe may have failed to anchor on comet

A European spacecraft that made history by touching down on a comet may have failed to anchor itself firmly to the object’s icy surface, scientists have revealed.

European Space Agency mission controllers clapped, cheered and hugged each other after receiving confirmation that the Philae probe had landed.

But celebrations were tempered by the later discovery that the probe’s two harpoons had not fired to fasten the craft down in the ultra-low gravity.