Shadow cast over probe’s mission

Europe’s comet lander Philae has come to rest in the shadow of a cliff, posing a potential problem for its solar panels, scientists said as they published the first image ever taken from the surface of a comet.

The photo shows a rocky terrain, with one of the lander’s three feet in the corner of the frame. It is part of a slew of data that Philae is transmitting to Earth, indicating that its instruments are working properly, said Jean-Pierre Bibring, the lander’s lead scientist at the European Space Agency.

Before deciding whether to try to adjust the lander, scientists will spend the next day or two collecting as much data as possible while its primary battery still has energy. The lander’s solar panels were designed to provide an extra hour of battery life each day after that, but this may not be possible now.