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| Philae Obelisk (Photo by Eugene Birchall) |
In days of yore and lore, Rosetta was a stone and Philae was an obelisk.
Together they led humans to a deciphering of ancient hieroglyphics.
Rosetta was the driving force right along. When discovered by Napoleonic soldier Pierre-Francois Bouchard in 1799, she “spoke” to him in three ways: Ancient Egyptian hieroglyphs, Demotic script and Ancient Greek.
When Philae joined the fun in 1815, her talents were added to the mix.
On her tall narrow surface were two scripts: Egyptian
hieroglyphs and Ancient Greek.
Neither icon made many more headlines until decades later. In fact, it
was just recently that the two began to really surface again.
On a sort of “second honeymoon” to comet 67P/
Churyumov-Gerasimenko, the partners rode tandem for much of the trip. However,
constant togetherness can take its toll on any relationship.
Philae therefore hopped aboard the comet’s surface while Rosetta hovered nervously overhead. Rosetta’s worst fears were soon realized. Philae feel into a deep sleep, and didn’t awaken for months.
Rosetta and the folks back home on Earth remained steadfast throughout all this drama. Their loyalty was recently rewarded:
Philae slowly awoke to the sound of universal cheering.
It’s amazing what faith plus science can accomplish…
Resources
http://www.nbcnews.com/science/space/comet-lander-philae-awakes-months-long-hibernation-n375096
Copyright June 16, 2015 by Linda Van Slyke All Rights Reserved
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