Considering how many times I've bounced, rolled, and/or crashed a lander in Kerbal Space Program, I am totally impressed that:<p>a - They managed to complete most of the primary science mission!<p>b - They have all of this ancillary data that they think they can use to pinpoint Philae on the comet.<p>c - They think there's a good chance that the probe will start working again.<p>d - They got this far by uploading pre-programmed command sequences to a device around 1600 light-seconds away, so no real-time control whatsoever.<p>That little video game has really increased the amount of respect I have for the scientists and engineers who run these missions. The disappointing state that Philae is currently in is itself an <i>incredible</i> achievement.
I had the same interpretation of the landing, about 10 days ago.<p><i>"My guess is that Philae landed tumble-weed style, jumping, and rolling until it hit a wall, in this case, the cliff that shadows it."</i>
<a href="https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=8619347" rel="nofollow">https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=8619347</a><p>For me this was the most likley scenario, based on the photos they provided, and the final position.