What is Philae (spacecraft)?
[[File:Philae lander (transparent bg).png|alt=Illustration of Philae|thumb|Illustration of ''Philae'']] '''Philae''' (before known as '''RoLand''') is an [[European Space Agency|ESA]] [[Lander (spacecraft)|lander]] [[spacecraft]]. It went with the [[Rosetta (spacecraft)|Rosetta]] [[spacecraft]]. It landed on [[comet]] [[67P/Churyumov–Gerasimenkoon]] on 12 November 2014 to analyze it. The name Philae was chosen through a contest organized by ESA, won by fifteen year old Serena Olga Vismara from Milan. The name comes from the orbiter name, already defined as Rosetta, which is the name of the [[stele]] that allowed [[Jean-François Champollion]] to understand [[ancient Egypt]] [[hieroglyphics]]. In order to complete the translation, he needed to use also the monuments on the island of Philae, the same way Philae lander will help to complete the work of the Rosetta lander. {{tech-stub}} {{Mars spacecraft}} [[Category:European Space Agency spacecraft]]