ESA Rosetta Mission | Philae Lander

Bounce Landing of Philae

ESA Philae vehicle data provided by Wikipedia

Rosetta Philae, the second probe to land on the surface of a orbiting, non planet has a massive scientific and engineering achievement however, missions of this scale don't always go as planned. The image above shows Philae during the unintentional bounce landing of 1000 meters, where the lander returned into space after the downward spikes failed to activate. The only thing holding Philae to the surface is the ice screws located at the ends of the legs.

I modeled everything in 3ds Max with NURBS surfaces and rendered everything in V-Ray and Maxwell. All images were composited in After Effects.

If you'd like to use any of the images, please let me know where they'll be used. All I ask for is a proper credit. Also, the 3D model is for sale as a .MAX, .OBJ, or .STP, which might make a nice and complex desktop model.

Philae studio pose

Here is the Philae in a studio pose.

philae delivery to comet

Philae freefalls towards the spinning comet, using an internal flywheel and external thrusters to position itself.

Philae Leg and Ices Screw Details

Seen at the end of the Philae legs is the ice screws, the only holding system that stopped the bounce landing.

Rosetta Philae Sensor Infographic

Lander Technical View

Plaster Renderings