The toaster-sized probe (Philae) is due to separate from the main craft (Rosetta) at 9:03 GMT/UTC (4:03 am EST) Wednesday. Landing will be at 4.02pm GMT/UTC or 11:02am EST.
Could be very interesting. The probe had some power-up issues but appears to be working fine now.
The Philae lander has separated from Rosetta and is on its way to the comet. A communication link has been established between the two. Touchdown is still a few hours away.
I’m watching the live stream, with just over an hour until landing. The joy on their faces has put a huge smile on mine. I am in awe of this project, and also of the fact that I can watch it unfold live.
I’ve got that ‘streaming’ too. In fact, when I woke up this morning and checked XKCD, since it’s Wednesday, it’s how I found out about all this. In fact, I’m using XKCD as my countdown, so I know when I really have to be paying attention.
I just noticed that when the live feed drops and they go back to that empty room, there’s three computer monitors in the bottom left and a mechanical arm with a camera attached taking a selfie (I assume someone is watching those monitors from somewhere else).