Comet lander: Philae sends data from surface 14 November 2014 Last updated at 23:42 By Jonathan Amos Science correspondent, BBC News The Philae lander on the distant comet 67P has re-established radio contact with its orbiting Rosetta satellite and is sending data from the surface. It ends a tense wait for the European Space Agency (Esa), amid fears that the lander's battery was about to die. Scientists will be most keen to see if the probe has managed to get a surface sample of the comet with its drill. Philae descended to 67P on Wednesday - the first time such a feat has been achieved. The probe has been sending pictures and other scientific data ever since, relayed by the Rosetta satellite. "Stable comms w/ @Philae now reestablished - telemetry & science data are flowing from the surface" of comet 67P/Churyumov-Gerasimenko," Esa posted on its Twitter feed late on Friday GMT. After "bouncing" on landing, it is not known precisely where on the comet the robot is located, but the pictures it has returned indicate it is in the shadow of a cliff. The limited sunlight means the robot's solar panels cannot keep the battery systems properly topped up. Engineers doubt Philae in its current position can stay powered beyond Saturday. Esa told an online news briefing the drill has been active The dwindling energy reserves prompted the mission team to deploy the drill on Friday. Although the activity was among Philae's key objectives, it was also regarded as being highly risky, because the torque on the tool could destabilise the delicately placed lander. But Esa felt that the closing power window made that risk worthwhile. The first good news to emerge from the latest radio contact is that Philae appears to have suffered no major disruption from the drilling. And the instrument onboard the probe that was due to receive the first sample, Cosac, is feeding science data to Earth. Engineers continue to work on solutions that might improve the power situation, and, during this pass, commands were uploaded to change the configuration of the lander's body. This involved raising its main housing and rotating it 35 degrees to try to maximise the amount of sunshine falling on the largest of the solar panels. This could yet eke out a bit more life from Philae. Even if the probe falls silent over the weekend, researchers say they are thrilled with the amount of data they have already acquired. It was suggested that as much as 80% of the primary science objectives had been achieved before any drilling started. Esa's Rosetta mission, with its piggybacked Philae lander, was launched in 2004. The pair covered 6.4 billion km to reach Comet 67P out near the orbit of Jupiter. Scientists hope the investigations at the 4km-wide "ice mountain" can provide fresh insights on the origins of the Solar System.