Man Lands A Spacecraft On A Moving Comet [Video]

Only a space geek like myself can honestly say, "Forget those Kim Kardashian photos, we just recreated the movie 'Armegeddon' and landed on a comet!!"

For the first time since the internet was invented, the word "AMAZING!" is actually being used correctly.

The historic landing of the Philae (pronounced FEE-lay) lander on comet 67-P has not been without glitches.  The European Space Agency (ESA) says the harpoons on the Philae lander did not fire and scientists are trying to figure out why. The harpoons were designed to anchor the lander to the comet, which has very weak gravity.  It's the first time a probe has ever successfully landed on a comet. Not only that, telemetry indicates Philae bounced twice and landed three times.

The lander is about the size of a washing machine and has been sending signals from the surface of comet 67-P, which is hundreds of millions of miles away from Earth.  It took years for the probe to get there.

The images sent back from the comet so far have been stunning.

At this time, the exact fate of Philae is unknown. After its landing bounce, it apparently landed in a place where the antennae are not pointed toward Earth. So, no signal can be received until the rotation of the comet brings the antennae back into alignment.

Bruce Willis and Ben Affleck didn't make the trip this time, but this is still pretty amazing news. And we finally got revenge for that comet that took out our dinosaurs! It only took a couple of million years.

For the latest updates on the lander, log on to www.esa.int.