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Comment Re:A good slice of luck. (Score 2) 35

The lander does not have any capability to steer itself once released. The orbiter will reduce it's orbit down to 10km and the lander will be pushed away from the orbiter at walking speed, if there is a boulder underneath, there is no way to maneuver away to another landing location. This is why there is a lot of luck involved.Gravity is very low, if there were an astronaut on the surface they could jump off and achieve escape velocity. The lander does not have any way to slow down when it nears the surface and when it makes contact it will harpoon the surface and use screws to secure it down securely.

Submission + - Rosetta's Lander Philae Snaps Mind-Blowing Comet Selfie (discovery.com)

Submitted by astroengine
astroengine writes: You’d be hard-pressed to find a more impressive “selfie” than this! Attached to the European Space Agency's comet-chasing spacecraft Rosetta, the Philae lander opened one of its robotic eyes when the mission was orbiting comet 67P/Churyumov–Gerasimenko at a distance of only 50 kilometers (31 miles) on Sunday. With two high-contrast exposures, the lander captured one of Rosetta’s solar panels in the foreground with the comet behind.

Submission + - FedEx Carbon-Neutral Envelope to minimize your carbon footprint (fedex.com) 2

Submitted by wooferhound
wooferhound writes: FedEx selected BP Target Neutral, a not-for-profit provider that gives companies like FedEx the chance to offset their CO2 emissions by funding projects aimed at neutralizing global CO2 emissions. Target Neutral is monitored by the Independent Assurance and Advisory Panel to ensure that projects meet the highest international standards and funds go to verified emission-reduction projects.
When FedEx pays to offset the emissions associated with shipping via FedEx Express envelopes, every penny goes directly to projects that prevent the release of CO2, or remove it from the atmosphere.

Submission + - Hidden Archeology of Stonehenge Revealed in New Geophysical Map (gizmag.com)

Submitted by Anonymous Coward
An anonymous reader writes: Utilizing a comprehensive array of remote sensing technology and non-invasive geophysical survey equipment, researchers working on the site of Stonehenge in Wiltshire, England have revealed hundreds of previously unknown features buried deep beneath the ground as part of the Stonehenge Hidden Landscapes Project. The finds include images of dwellings from the Bronze and Iron Ages as well as details of buried Roman settlements never before seen.

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