Comet lander falls silent, scientists fear it has moved

Slightly OT, but I just finished reading The Martian [1] by Andy Weir. I have always been fascinated by space and space travel, but I never really had a good grasp on the technical complexity of it all until I read that book. Now that I understand that, I have a whole new appreciation for how awesome the Rosetta/Philae and the New Horizons missions are, and exactly why it is so incredibly exciting what we have done in only the past 60 or so years of space travel.

[1] http://www.amazon.com/The-Martian-Novel-Andy-Weir-ebook/dp/B...

Original source: http://blogs.esa.int/rosetta/2015/07/20/rosetta-and-philae-s...

This is incredibly interesting but sad. Philae was launched 11(!) years ago and has had an incredible journey, and to see it not be able to finish its mission properly must be brutal on the scientists. You can get a sense of how long and intricate its journey has been in this video of its path among the planets: http://www.esa.int/spaceinvideos/Videos/2013/10/Rosetta_s_tw...

A bit confusing. At the start the article says that Philae last made contact on July 9, and won't respond to commands. But at the end it says Philae is still sending data, albeit sporadically. Does that qualify as 'falls silent'?

Maybe someone with more knowledge than me can explain.