Beat of touchdown: The sound Philae made when it landed on a comet

The European Space Agency released audio on Wednesday of the moment the Philae spacecraft touched down on a comet, as it made contact with Earth for the first time in many months. Philae broke its silence last Saturday, as it approached the sun, by sending a signal back to Earth via Rosetta, its mother spacecraft, which is between 200 and 240 kilometres (124 and 150 miles) away from the comet. Scientists were elated last weekend when Philae's solar panels absorbed enough light to recharge its main battery and wake the lander up. Philae in November became the first spacecraft ever to settle on a comet when it touched down on icy 67P/Churyumov-Gerasimenko, but it managed to send data to Earth only for about 60 hours before running out of power.