Philae probe. Computer artwork of the Philae probe about to land on the surface of comet 67P/Churyumov-Gerasimenko. The probe will be part of the Rosetta mission of the European Space Agency (ESA), scheduled to launch in February 2004. It will spend 14 years travelling to the comet. Philae will land on the surface of the comet and perform measurements on the chemical and physical characteristics of its nucleus, which is composed of material from the early history of the Solar System.