European Space Agency's Rosetta mission landed the Philae probe on Comet 67P/Churyumov-Gerasimenko, but the probe was lost after its batteries went dead. Now, ESA thinks the probe could get enough sunlight in May or June to come back online, according to The Christian Science Monitor.
After the historical landing in November, Philae's anchor failed and the probe skipped across the comet's surface before landing (most likely) in the shadows of Abydos. Rosetta did not know where Philae was for sure, according to ESA's Rosetta Mission Blog.
"We're looking - by eye - for a set of three spots that correspond to the lander," said OSIRIS principal investigator Holger Sierks from the Max Planck Institute for Solar System Research (MPS) in Germany. "The problem is that sets of three spots are very common all over the comet nucleus; Hatmehit and the area around its rim where we're looking is full of boulders and we have identified several sets of three spots."
Since the Beagle 2 probe was found on Mars, hope remains for Philae. It should get enough sunlight in March, but the batteries won't be ready to power up the lander for a chat with ground control until May or June - hopefully, before the approaching sunlight makes it too hot for Philae to function.
