Comet probe goes into hibernation as batteries drain

The European Space Agency's Philae lander successfully landed on the 67P comet last week after it was deployed from the Rosetta satellite, which had been chasing the comet for the past decade. 

However a landing mishap caused the Philae to stop in the shadow of a cliff, limiting its exposure to sunlight - used to charge its batteries - for only 1.5 hours a day, an amount insufficient to keep it going. 

A last ditch effort to maneuver the probe to be able to reach more sunlight was successful but came too late. Despite rotating the probe, it was unable to get enough power to its systems and went into hibernation. Before shutting down, the probe deployed its drill and sent a last batch of data back to Earth.

Despite the limited time it had on the comet's surface, the ESA said that the Philae probe accomplished about 90% of the science it set out to do, including the collection of various types of data. 

Currently beyond Mars' orbit, the comet will make its closest approach to the sun in August of next year, when scientists are hoping it will have enough power to start up again.