Never forget Philae, the little comet lander that could.
With the all excitement about this summer's Juno mission to Jupiter and last summer's New Horizons journey to Pluto, it can be easy to forget about the great solar system visit of 2014, when Rosetta visited a comet and its plucky lander Philae became the first spacecraft to land on one. (Sure, it was bumpy, but it still counts). Today the Philae team tweeted that the end is near. The European Space Agency team will switch off communications Wednesday morning.
Philae hasn't beamed back data to Earth since last summer, in part because its rough comet landing reduced the amount of energy the craft could harvest, cutting the mission short. But the Rosetta spacecraft—which has been orbiting the comet where Philae sits—has kept online its communication system for talking to the lander. Mission control needs that power to being the process of preparing for the official end of the mission later this year, The Verge says.
Philae fans have one last chance to say goodbye. You can use Facebook, Twitter, Instagram, or numerous other channels to send a #GoodbyePhilae photo and message (instructions here).
Godspeed, little fella.