Europe makes space history as Philae probe lands on comet

The European Space Agency landed a probe on a comet on November 12, 2014, a first in space exploration and the climax of a 10-year-odyssey, but an anchoring system problem may hamper planned investigations into the origins of Earth and the solar system. In photo: This image of comet 67P/Churyumov-Gerasimenko was acquired by the Philae lander.

In picture: Philae has landed on comet 67P/Churyumov-Gerasimenko. The 100-kg (220-pound) lander - virtually weightless on the comet's surface - touched down on schedule at about 11 am. ET after a seven-hour descent from its orbiting mothership Rosetta, now located a half-billion kilometers (300 million miles) from Earth.

In picture: A side-on look down the smaller lobe of Comet 67P/Churyumov-Gerasimenko and onto the smoother terrain of the 'neck' region. Scientists hope that samples drilled out from the comet, known as 67P/Churyumov-Gerasimenko, will unlock details about how the planets - and possibly even life - evolved, as the rock and ice that make up comets preserve ancient organic molecules like a time-capsule.

In picture: An artistic impression of 67P's magnetic field. Among several records set by the mission, Rosetta has become the first spacecraft to orbit a comet rather than just flying past to take pictures.