Yes August 2015 is when the comet is closest to the Sun. The mission has 1 or maybe 2 more years to run. The lander is one small complimentary part to the whole mission.

They don't know yet. That can take low priority as they are collecting science right now.

They are considering it, but they might have to wait a few weeks or months to get enough battery power, IF they do not use the last few amp hours to do a hop. But I think they are running out of power, they say even tonight's comm link is doubtful, which seems a bit earlier than expected. Also they said a command to enter low power operations failed to get to the lander. I think the battery warming is taking more power as they only have 1 hour 20 mins of sunlight per comet day.

The leg screws are automatic, when the landing gear pads hit the surface the screws rotate, but without the gas thruster pushing down and the nature of the ground the ice screws did not hold. I doubt on the second and third landing the downward velocity would be enough to turn the screws. The screws do not have an electric motor, it's a pulley system powered by the downward motion of landing.

Oh yes I thought myself the shirt was completely inappropriate for the occasion. But then again he has his own tastes and personality.

They have not yet located the lander on pictures.
My impression is the legs can launch the lander quite high above the surface.

The solar panel lady says they might indeed try to hop out of the "corner" they are in.

How did Matt insult a bunch of people ?

ADMIN: We don't need to discuss that here. Thanks.

They will use the drill and ovens, but might not have enough battery left to transmit the results.

The audio of the hangout is not too good, lots of echo's .

No, they already knew it was a dark dust covered comet before they arrived. It is in fact blacker than coal. They have also said small grains have been observed by ORSIS floating away from the comet surface and re-landing. Also it's shedding more and more water as it closes in on the Sun.

They have already stated they want to follow the comet during 2016, as it enters the dormant state. They would need a mission extension for that.

From a video I saw the force that drives the screws in is from the pads hitting the ground, if that is correct, then sliding down a cliff face won't make the ice screws work, will it ?
Of course I just remembered the first big bounce it did, of which right now no one can say for sure why that happened.

From this lander orientation image it appears to me the lander is resting with it's base against a cliff.

Ha ha, no need for harpoons, just wedge yourself into a crevice.

They are going to move Rosetta to a better orbit for Philae communications, one burn has already been made.

On the science front the ground looks like it's subject to a lot of freeze/thaw fracturing.

But as they get closer to the Sun it's going to warm up right ?

Probably up against a cliff, rather than inside a cave, and the shadow of the cliff is a problem. Won't the 1.5 hours of sunlight allow some battery recharging ?

That's nearly a 1/4 of the whole comet.

Do you mean the main body is 30 cm above the ground ?

That's not good, but at least the lander is alive and on the surface. They needed a lot of luck and they got SOME luck.

They said images would be released if there was no obviois new science discovery in the images, and the PI owner agreed.

If it landed in the middle of the image then it looks like a nice flat spot, with cliffs to the right.

What is that at the top right ?