Probe makes historic comet landing
European robot probe Philae has made the first, historic landing on a comet, after descending from its mothership.
The landing on Comet 67P/Churyumov-Gerasimenko was confirmed at about 1605 GMT.
There were cheers and hugs at the control room in Darmstadt, Germany, after the signal was confirmed.
It was designed to shine a light on some of the mysteries of these icy relics from the formation of the Solar System.
The landing caps a 6.4 billion-kilometre journey that was begun a decade ago.
The lander sank about 4cm into the surface, suggesting a relatively soft surface.
But there remains some lack of clarity over whether the harpoons designed to fasten the spacecraft to the ball of ice and dust fired as intended.
"This is a big step for human civilisation," said Jean-Jacques Dordain, the director-general of the European Space Agency (Esa).
Shortly after the touchdown was confirmed, Stephan Ulamec, the mission's lander chief, said: "Philae is talking to us... we are on the comet."
The first pictures from the surface have already reached Earth and are being processed in preparation for release.
Astronaut Chris Hadfield, famous for performing David Bowie's Space Oddity on the space station, said of the comet: "Now we're close enough to lick it, and see what it's really made of."
Prof Monica Grady of the Open University, who has worked on the project from its earliest days, was at mission control in Darmstadt and was jumping for joy when the news came through.
She told BBC News: "I can't believe it, it's fantastic, we've landed - we've waited so long for this."
Scientists initially said Philae's harpoons did not fire as intended, but BBC science correspondent Jonathan Amos said this remained unclear.
If they did not deploy, then scientists will take a decision on whether to re-fire them.
However, sources said that screws in the feet that are also designed to anchor the robot into the soil did work.
Earlier, a thruster system designed to push the robot down into the surface of the comet failed.
Part of the difficulty is the very low gravity on the 4km-wide ice mountain.
Philae needs to be wary of simply bouncing back into space.
One of the cameras on Philae sent this image of the comet during the descent
The nature and strength of the surface materials on the surface are unknown.
Philae could have alighted upon terrain whose constitution is anything between rock hard and puff-powder soft.
Controllers in Darmstadt have already received pictures from the surface of the comet, but are getting intermittent drop-out in the lander's signal.
Analysis by Science editor David Shukman
Landing on the small strange world of a comet ranks as one of the greatest achievements in space exploration. Neil Armstrong and Buzz Aldrin would obviously take pride of place.
People might debate the relative prowess of robotic rovers driving on Mars or the Voyager spacecraft edging out of the solar system.
But touching down on a primordial lump of rock and ice that dates from the earliest days of the Solar System - and which is hurtling through space at 34,000 mph - is a genuine triumph by any standards.
Dreaming up the plan 25 years ago, enduring 10 years of journeying through space, handling the tension of edging close to the comet more than 300 million miles away - all these are remarkable in their own right.
Rosetta's orbits around the comet are generating unexpected insights. But landing will help achieve a dream of establishing invaluable ground truth about a body that previous generations could only gawp at in wonder or terror.(Source:BBC News)
Nasa congratulates Esa
John Grunsfeld, astronaut and associate administrator for Nasa's Science Mission Directorate says:
"This achievement represents a breakthrough moment in the exploration of our solar system and a milestone for international cooperation. We are proud to be a part of this historic day and look forward to receiving valuable data from the three Nasa instruments on board Rosetta that will map the comet's nucleus and examine it for signs of water.
"Small bodies in our solar system like comets and asteroids help us understand how the solar system formed, and provide opportunities to advance exploration.
"It's a great day for space exploration.
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