This photo from Philae shows the surface during the
lander's approach
A European robot probe has made the
first, historic landing on a comet, but its status remains uncertain after
harpoons failed to anchor it to the surface.
Officials said the craft may have lifted off the comet after touchdown before returning to the surface.
Mission scientist Stephan Ulamec said: "Maybe we didn't just land once, we landed twice."
He said it would take further analysis to understand what has happened to it.
A landing on Comet 67P/Churyumov-Gerasimenko was confirmed at about 1605 GMT.
There were cheers and hugs at the control room in Darmstadt, Germany, after the signal was confirmed.
It was designed to shine a light on some of the mysteries of these icy relics from the formation of the Solar System.
The landing caps a 6.4 billion-kilometre journey that was begun a decade ago.
The lander sank about 4cm into the surface, suggesting a relatively soft surface.
But shortly after, scientists confirmed that the harpoons, designed to fasten the spacecraft to the ball of ice, did not fire as intendedttp://edhition.cnn.com/2014/11/12/world/comet-landing-countdown/index.html
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