NASA 's Philae landing craft is due to touch down on a comet surface on November 12 . The mission may shed light on whether life may have been brought to Earth by comets . It has been designed to act like a vice because the comet 's gravity is so weak . It also has a drill that can bore up to 20 centimeters ( 12.4 inches ) into the comet and return a sample to a tiny oven that will heat the material and analyze its content . If successful , first pictures could come back about 24 hours after landing .
NASA 's Philae landing craft is due to touch down on a comet surface on November 12 . The mission may shed light on whether life may have been brought to Earth by comets . It has been designed to act like a vice because the comet 's gravity is so weak . If successful , first pictures could come back about 24 hours after landing .