We have activated the drill. Its started to drill. Then we lost contact again because the orbiter is below the horizon again, said Dr Stephan Ulamec, Philae Lander Manager.

We are not sure whether the batteries will still have enough energy to transmit the data when we get in contact later this evening. Around midnight we should know.

Philae appears to be stuck under a cliff

The comet is a remnant from the early solar system and may hold clues about how life on Earth began.

Many scientists believe that comets were the driving force behind life on Earth, bringing water and amino acids to the planet during the bombardment phase around four billion years ago.

If the scientists do not manage to re-establish the link with the probe, there is a faint possibility that the solar panels will begin working again when the comets orbit brings it closer to the Sun.

We can only hope that as we approach the Sun, maybe in August, if we dont have dust or a huge coma blocking the Sun, then perhaps there would be a chance we could come back and at least see how the lander is doing, said Valentina Lommats of the German Space Agency.

So cross your fingers but perhaps we will hear something from the lander again. It looks a bit bad. But we can always hope.

Crucially, the team has still not located the lander. On Thursday the team said they believed Philae had bounced twice before settling in a crater to the East of the original landing site. However scans of the area by the OSIRIS camera on board Rosetta failed to locate the probe. Rosetta has now began scanning areas to the East of the landing site.

The original landing site. Scientists now think the probe is somewhere to the west of the mark

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Rosetta probe may hold clues to life on Earth...but scientists cannot get to them